Whitestaunton Church Community Carol Service
19 December 2021 6.30pm at Whitestaunton Church
Come and join us and our new choir for a joyful celebration of Christmas with our favourite Carols, readings and poems.
All Warmly Welcome
Please wear a mask
An informal Service for all ages with readings, carols and activities based around the Crib
Please wear a mask
Benefice of St Mary’s Chard, Combe St
Nicholas,
Wambrook and Whitestaunton
Trinity Eight 25th
July 2021
Hi everyone,
Rev Ann and myself
worked out yesterday that we have written between us 68 weekly letters since we
went into lockdown, we trust they have been in some small measure a fruitful
resource, they have certainly seen us through some interesting times.
I am about to go on my Sabbatical
which will last from 1st August until 1st Nov so this
seemed a good moment to move from weekly to monthly letters, plus more of you
will hopefully feel able to return slowly but surely to Church.
A Sabbatical, is part of
the church’s provision for ongoing learning and theological reflection. It is not
an extended holiday but rather a period of time away from the parishes, thereby
creating a space in which the aim is to achieve a balance of rest, travel,
study and reflection, it is an opportunity to discover fresh vision, to be
surprised, I hope and to come back refreshed and sustained. I am going to spend
time exploring Celtic spirituality in more depth and visiting some of our
Celtic heritage islands to connect physically and spiritually with our
forefathers in Christ, plus there will be spinning, and knitting involved too.
I will continue to think and pray for you while I am away and look forward to
sharing some of my experience with you on my return.
This Sunday we are
hoping weather permitting to hold our Prayer and Praise Picnic in the field up
at Ham, kindly given for the event by Mark Edwards.
When we organised it for
this Sunday the reading from John wasn’t a factor in the date, so there is a
certain parallel or symbolism in coming together, in sitting on the side of a
hill, sharing bread and food together, hearing God’s word and praising him. We
will not find ourselves short of food, for that we should be thankful, I hope
that some of the earnestness that brought people to sit and hear Jesus will be
with us, but each of us will bring that in our own unique way of journeying
with Christ.
The Gospel talks about
the feeding of the five thousand men plus all the women and children as well, this
is a truly magnificent occurrence in the lives of those present and a miracle
we have spent much time pondering upon down through the ages. The crowd were
following Jesus looking for more outpourings of the many healings they had seen
and received. They have begun to focus on proclaiming him a prophet, Jesus
needs after the meal to go away, to be aside so they cannot achieve the
short-sighted gain of making him a king on earth. He spends the time away
alone, and returns after dark to the disciples walking across the water to the
boat. It is such an awesome story of one day in the life of Jesus, it must have
been such a privilege to travel with him whilst being the most scary and tiring
experience too.
And yet we do travel
with him, he is present amongst us, he will be there on the hillside, he will
be present as we break bread, and eat, and talk, as we sustain each other in
prayer, and comfort, and hope. Not just on the hillside but each day of our
lives, when we meet in Church or over the gate, at the shops, on a walk. The
bread of life sustaining and keeping us expectant of God’s love to be amongst
us all, Jesus leaving the Lord’s prayer enabling and inviting us to look for
the needs of the day, not tomorrow and only enough for the day, something we
often forget to focus on.
When we see the way that
Jesus treated people, one thing is clear. He liked them. He had compassion on
them and cared for them. There were some people he had problems with, but only
because they were religious hypocrites and thought better of themselves than
everybody else, Jesus gave people time and effort and energy.
I love the beginning of
our reading from Ephesians and leave it here as a prayer offering for us all.
I bow my knees before
the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray
that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be
strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ
may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in
love. Be
Blessed Rev Georgina
Each morning and each evening
let the peace of the Father, be ours.
Each day and each night
let the peace of the Son be ours.
Each dawn and each dusk
let the peace of the Spirit be ours.
Let the blessing of the three in one be ours;
both now and for ever. Amen. Carmina Gadelica
At
Whitestaunton Church we are taking part in an exciting initiative run by Somerset Wildlife Trust and the Diocese of
Bath and Wells, which is providing free online training and support to help
communities take action for wildlife in their churchyard (or other church land
or burial ground).
We are
starting by getting to know what wildlife the churchyard already supports by
doing a survey of the wildlife in the churchyard. So plants can grow and attract wildlife to
the churchyard, we are leaving a small plot of grass on the bank at the back of
the churchyard unmown between May and August.
The rest of the churchyard will continue to be mown as usual by our
voluntary mowing team (to whom we are very grateful).
We will give
you updates on our progress and please do let Jane (details below) know if you
spot any interesting wildlife when you are visiting the churchyard.
So far in
the grassy bank we have spotted: ribwort
plantain, common ragwort, dandelion, lords and ladies, lesser celandine,
hogweed, common cleavers and germander speedwell.
We have also
spotted honeybees and red-tailed mason bees near the path.
Please do get in touch if you have questions or queries by contacting Whitestaunton’s
Wilder Churches Champion: Jane Harris at janeharris334@gmail.com
Find out more about Wilder Churches at www.somersetwildlife.org/wilder-churches where you can also watch recordings
of the online events held so far and sign up to events.
Trinity Seven. 18th July 2021
Dear Friends
It seems we are now enjoying some lovely summer weather and we are looking forward to Monday and the new freedoms it will bring us, even although they may be cautious ones. One great joy will be singing in church again. We have been living through a long winter, both physically and in our hearts and will we know what to do with this summer season? Summer usually brings vitality, connectedness, rest. The opposite of winter—where God and friends feel distant and death and darkness close at hand—in the summer of the heart, God and others draw intimately near, light and life surround us. The heart in summer is a taste of the kingdom of God, a savoury morsel of heaven, sweet and brief, where God, fully present, shines light day and night, and that light affects and blesses all those it touches. The prophet Zechariah describes the summer of the heart as a city, Jerusalem. He was writing to a people who are returning and rebuilding their lives after decades in exile, prisoners of war, and so we too are rebuilding our lives after what seems like an exile, and long also for a new summer of the heart. As I said, summer is a foretaste of the feast to come, a kingdom that is now but not yet. That’s summer. What are we to do, when we are blessed to find ourselves in it? 1 1. Do enjoy: play, rest, enjoy God and others, without reserve and without apology. Many of us carry a residue of Protestant angst, that makes us feel guilty when we really enjoy ourselves, yet, we have a Saviour whose first miracle was to turn water into wine for no greater reason than that the party might go on. 2. Don’t rush: Kingdom living is not hurried. Some of us may feel the pressure to rush around now arranging reunions and weddings and parties and holidays. This summer once we have been released from our long winter that may be a temptation too. To fit it all in. To say yes to everything we are asked of, whether we are called to it or not. But, in this summer of your heart, don’t be tempted to fill up your calendar, remember some of the slower pace of life which we became accustomed to because of the circumstances of the past 16 months and continue to find that peace in which the presence of God is vivid and real. 3. Delight in abundance: in the summertime of the heart, God’s blessings are clear and many and can fill you with joy. Delight in and continue to treasure the gifts of summer, in our gardens, parks and countryside. For consumerism—the sin always around the corner in our culture—will try to convince you, even in summer, to chase what you lack instead of enjoy what you have. But we are called to a form of living in summer that instead of craving and complaining, is about giving and thanksgiving. Delight. Give thanks in summer. 4. Finally, continue to hydrate: resting and playing are good in summer. But one thing any coach will tell you—it applies to sports as well as spiritual life - drink enough water! That is, nourish your life of prayer and the Word. As the psalmist says, ‘our souls thirst for the living God, and ask’ (even in summer) ‘when can we meet with God’ in prayer and worship, service and praise. Summer is a foretaste of the feast to come. The kingdom of God near, for a season. 2 And the beauty is when the hearts summer comes to you, recognise it, enjoy it, slow down, soak it up, delight in the abundance, continue to connect to God’s word. Give thanks for this season and the opportunity it gives us to praise God, enjoy his creation and open up our winter souls to the light. We need this more than ever.
Every blessing Ann
NB: Next week’s letter and sheet will be the last weekly delivery. We have been keeping these going every week for fifteen months now and feel it is time to reduce the regularity. We will continue to produce something each month which will be delivered in the same way and, hopefully, will include other things to keep you connected with your church family.
Trinity Six 11th July 2021
Hi everyone,
What a mixture of
weather we have been having this week, we continue to remember in our prayers
those who have lost home and possessions because of last Monday’s floods. The
plus for us is the sudden growth spurt in the garden and trying to keep up with
the fruit as it ripens.
The story this week from
Mark brought to mind my childhood, do you remember when you did something that
maybe you shouldn’t of and somehow your mum, or significant other in life, knew
exactly what you had been up to! I never could quite work out how did she find
out what I had said or done; it was a complete mystery. When I became a mother
myself I discovered the secret.
There is also a saying
isn’t there “be sure your sins will find you out” and I am sure that Herod had
that quite prominently in his mind when he heard about the way Jesus was
gaining a following. The stories of his disciples going out and proclaiming the
good news and bringing healing to some of the afflicted. He was sure John the
Baptist had come back, wonder if he was scared or just worried about what was
to come?
The great historian
Josephus recorded at the time, that the local population were quite indignant
with Herod Antipas for killing John, whom they regarded as an honourable and
true prophet of repentance. Then three years later, the father of Antipas’s
first divorced wife, King Aretas of Nabataea, invaded Antipas’s western territory
and massacred his army. The populace saw in this defeat God’s revenge on Herod
for his crime. Everyone recognised that John died merely because he had spoken
the truth: “it is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife”. But this was
the truth that the powerful did not want to hear”.
The people had held the
story of Herod’s actions and would have seen this as his comeuppance.
Prophets can condemn kings and rulers, as well as those who cheat on
their wives. They are concerned about the life of nations, they will also
condemn those who steal from the poor, or those who do not practice decent
morals. There is no point threatening a prophet and hoping they will go
away quietly, God has empowered and compelled them to speak and all human power
is redundant.
This is not Herod the Great who indifferently
slaughtered his wives, his offspring, and Bethlehem’s babies, but his son Herod
Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee — Herod "the fox", according to Jesus
(Luke 13.32).
His sin was to have married someone too closely related to him, a woman who was
both his sister-in-law and his niece. The old Book of Common Prayer has a page
on which is recorded 'A table of kindred and affinity, wherein whosoever are
related are forbidden by the church of England to marry together.'
A man may not marry his
mother, daughter, father's mother, mother's mother,
son's daughter, daughters daughter, sister, father's daughter, mother's
daughter, wife's mother, wife's daughter, father's wife, son's wife, father's
father's wife, mother's father's wife, wife's father's mother, wife's mother's
mother, wife's son's daughter, wife's daughter's daughter, son's son's wife,
daughter's son's wife, father's sister, mother's sister, brother's daughter,
sister's daughter. No chance for Herod and Herodias .
John the Baptist would not be silenced, he had his conviction and he was
steadfast in proclaiming the need for everybody to be ready to meet with God.
God working his purpose out through those who would
listen and hear and action in their lives.
Be Blessed Rev Georgina
Be Blessed Rev Georgina
Benefice of St Mary’s Chard, Combe St
Nicholas, Wambrook and Whitestaunton
Fourth Sunday after Trinity.
Hi everyone,
On Sunday we shall, some
of us, be taking our Rogation walk and praying for good weather!
It will be good to share
in prayer and worship whilst walking and talking with plenty to catch up on,
giving us a sense of returning to some of the things we enjoy in our life
together as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Yesterday I had the
pleasure of being in a meeting, for supporting the Corrymeela Community in
Northern Ireland, with Hedley Abernethy who is the Head of Programmes working
in community in NI. He is gathering and working with people’s stories around
the legacy of conflict, and I was particularly struck by his approach as he
talked about how they are exploring what people know about life outside of the
walls of their community. The project is working with three areas in Belfast
City, on the Causeway Coast and the Glens, asking the questions, what do you
know about this place, the heritage and the history? Our place, our past, and
our perspectives, what makes a place a place? Hedley then went on to talk about
how the people are discovering hidden story, lost story and people’s
perceptions of the story.
It is the same in any
place isn’t it really. It reminded me that the Museum is trying to collect
stories from those who have lived here all their lives, to keep alive the story
that makes us the people of Chard and the surrounding villages, how we are
shaped by that story and history, how hard it is for Chard to shake off some of
the old story that still clings. If you have moved in to this area you may have
been told as I was, that no one goes out in the evening, or that no one does
anything on Saturday afternoons, well that isn’t quite true but the levels of
through flow do drop at these times giving the feeling that it is an accurate
reflection, and so perpetuating the story.
But some stories are
completely set down, to be explored and discussed but not to be changed, like
our Gospel reading stories of the woman with the bleeding and Jairus’s daughter
they can be interpreted and prayed with to find the meaning for our lives but
they stay the same, or do they? When we delve deeper into the what and why of
Jesus’s actions and the words and actions of those involved, we find a new
discovery of just who we are in relation to the story, where it resonates in
our being and interlinks with the events that have unfounded and made each of
us who we are. Why does the Gospel writer Mark pick these two moments from what
were undoubtably more actions of prayer and healing on that day. They both talk
of faith, the woman maybe frightened that she will be rejected approaches
silently and touches Jesus knowing that is all that is needed, and she was
right, but she is also discovered and on being asked to approach Jesus comes
near in fear, but instead of what she believes will happen, she receives love
in action. And Jairus a leader of the Synagogue cares more for his daughter
than his position in the synagogue and asks for help, he believes his daughter
will be healed. It takes the greatest strength of belief on his part especially
once he hears she has died, but he goes with Jesus to the house and the is
restored. A twelve year old girl and a woman healed, women didn’t have any
position in the culture of the time as a rule, but Jesus goes against the grain
of culture and action to change the story, that all are able to receive the
love of God.
Our reading coming from
2 Corinthians 8.1-15, is such a wealth of self-examining and richness. As I
read it the words of that beautiful Christmas hymn came into my mind. Thou who
wast rich beyond all measure yet for love’s sake becamest poor. And the second thing that came to mind was
balance, the last verse reads: “The one who had much did not have too much, and
the one who had little did not have too little”. At the end I have added the
beautiful hymn and the story behind why Frank Houghton wrote it.
Be Blessed in all you do
this week. Rev Georgina.
You can find out more of
John and Betty’s story on the internet.
“Thou Who Wast Rich
Beyond All Splendour”
This beautiful hymn was written
to honour and esteem missionaries John and Betty Stam. In China, 1934, they
were taken prisoner by Communist soldiers, along with their three-month-old
baby, Helen. John and Betty were marched to their deaths, but miraculously,
baby Helen, hidden in a sleeping bag, survived and was discovered five days
later. She was still alive.
The deaths of John and
Betty Stam electrified the Christian world. Upon hearing of the deaths of John
and Betty Stam, Frank Houghton wrote this hymn, which was inspired by 2 Corinthians 8:9: “… that though He was rich, yet for
your sake he became poor.”
John and Betty Stam were
compelled to give their lives for the truth that would eventually be printed on
John’s tombstone: “That Christ may be glorified whether by life or by death.
For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Phil. 1:20-21).
Thou who wast rich
beyond all splendour,
All for love’s sake becamest poor;
Thrones for a manger didst surrender,
Sapphire paved courts for stable floor.
Thou who wast rich beyond all splendour,
All for love’s sake becamest poor.
Thou who art God beyond all praising,
All for love’s sake becamest man;
Stooping so low, but sinners raising,
Heavenward by Thine eternal plan.
Thou who art God beyond all praising,
All for love’s sake becamest man.
Thou who art love beyond all telling,
Savior and King, we worship Thee.
Emmanuel, within us dwelling,
Make us what Thou wouldst have us be.
Thou who art love beyond all telling,
Savior and King, we worship Thee.
– Words: Frank Houghton;
Music: French Carol Quelle Est Cette Odeur Agreable © 1934
