Sunday Worship 28th November

 Sunday Worship - Advent Sunday

Everyone is most welcome to join us as we celebrate the beginning of a new Church Year on the first Sunday of Advent. Our services are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes' and 11 am at St Thomas', and although some of our Covid precautions remain in place for your safety we will still be able to sing some favourite Advent hymns and share refreshments after the service.

How very different it will be to last year, when Zoe and Louie lit the Advent candles in an empty church (see the picture below). We're all praying that it will not be necessary to close our churches again, and we ask that, if you are able to wear a face covering in church, you continue to do so and be kind to one another by observing safe distancing.

This afternoon at 4 pm there is also a special Advent Carol Service with our friends from Churches Together in Lees and District. The service is at 4 pm at the Salvation Army hall on Roundthorn Road, and all are invited.

This morning's first hymn is "Longing for Light, We Wait in Darkness (Christ be our Light)

Today's Gospel

Luke 21:25-36                       Signs of the End of the Age

Jesus said, "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

Then he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

"Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

Reflection

As you can see from the heading of todays reflection, this week is the first week of the season of Advent. It is also the start of the new Church Year. I could wish you all a ‘Happy New Year, but I suspect after reading the Gospel passage you might be tempted to ask the question, “What’s so happy about it?”

It reminds me of old movies, usually westerns, (or cowboys and Indians films, as we used to call them when I was a young boy) - There would be a man in a dark suit walking up and down the street with a sandwich board on proclaiming “the end of the world is nigh!”. He would proclaim impending doom.

This contrasts with the experience of most people at this time when everyone is focussed on Christmas and looking forward to celebrations, presents and feasting. Indeed, since the beginning of November our TV screen and radios have been awash with well-known Christmas jingles and adverts.  

For the studious among you, the word advent comes from Latin – with “ad” which means towards and ‘veni’  meaning ‘coming’. As Christians we are also focussed with hope on the coming of the ‘Light of Christ into our world’, as we prepare to celebrate the nativity and the incarnation of our Lord Jesus as a humble infant. So yes, it is right that we spend time during Advent focussing on the first coming of Christ two millennia ago. During the third and fourth weeks of Advent we look at just that. But for now, we are asked to look at the Second Coming of Christ as foretold in Daniel 7:13 and todays Gospel.

To some extent, the scene was already being set for us in the Gospel reading on Remembrance Sunday, [Mark 13: v1-8], where Jesus at the Mount of Olives, begins to describe the signs of the end of the age “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains”.

He is not describing what is imminent but what will happen before his second coming. Similarly, Luke is setting the scene when writes about what Jesus tells his disciples about the end of the world and the signs that will be a precursor to his coming again. 

It might not be unreasonable for us to look at current events and think we too are at the brink of the end of the world. We see endless wars across the globe and are worried about terrorist acts in our own country. There news stories about floods, drought, wildfires, hurricanes and earthquakes. Then to put the icing on the cake, there is the very real threat of climate catastrophe and adverse impacts of global warming. 

However, in past years people have also looked at their own times and read into events that the we are near that time.  In some our lifetimes been other natural disasters – earthquakes and tsunamis, World Wars, the cold war with the threat of nuclear annihilation and numerous wars in the Middle East which is after all bible country. 

As has always been the case, we don’t have to look too hard to see signs but that doesn’t necessarily mean it be tomorrow. It is not for us to know exactly when that time will be, only God knows that. But for Christians there is a far more positive message amongst all these portents of doom. Jesus did not say this as a threat to us – so that we would walk through our lives with foreboding and gloom. 

Jesus’s parable of the fig tree enables us to understand that if we can see the signs, then we can interpret them. Just as we can predict the coming of summer and new growth when we see new shoots and leaves. As with Jesus first coming, the signs are our hope and reassurance that God has not abandoned us, that God cares for us, he loves us and he notices us. He takes part in our daily lives. 

His return will not be catastrophic for believers because his return will usher in their redemption. It will be a time for hope, anticipation and glory. Jesus is telling us to watch out for the signs of his return, so like when the fig tree has new growth we know to prepare for summer, when we begin to see the signs of his second coming, we have time to prepare and be alert. We need to “stand up and raise our heads” and "Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life”  

In the meantime, we must work as disciples and spread the Good News and love of God. We must love one another and play our role in the community. We must continue to prepare for Christ’s return. We must be ready, because he could return at any time. The promise of his return offers us hope, that is the promise and good news of the Advent signs.

There’s certainly a lot to think about during this Advent season – I hope you can find a little time amongst the chaos to reflect on all that it means over the coming few weeks.                

Paul

Our Prayers

Most merciful Lord,

As we patiently wait for the day of your coming,

in a cloud with great power and glory,

help us to put aside the burdens that weigh us down,

and let us trust in your love

knowing that you hold us all in the palm of your hand.

In this time between times,

teach us to use this time wisely, watching and praying,

and to make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with you.

Amen

Our final hymn this morning is "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel"

Sunday Worship 21st November

 Sunday Worship - Christ the King

Everyone is most welcome to join us for our Sunday Eucharist at St Thomas' Church at 11 am or at St Agnes' at 9.15 am. Some of our Covid precautions remain in place to keep everybody safe, but we'll be singing a couple of hymns and offering refreshments after the service, and Sunday School is now back at St Thomas'. 

Our first hymn this morning is "Bread is Blessed and Broken"

Today's Gospel

John 18:33-37                  Jesus before Pilate

Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

Reflection

I have borrowed this week’s reflection from a new website that I came across called refectionary.com. It is written by Fay Rowlands (aka Mother Clanger) and I am sure you will find it enjoyable as well as thought provoking.

I love the Lord of the Rings films. Mostly because I love the books, but it certainly helps to have drool-worthy Aragorn flashed across the screen from time to time.

He’s an interesting fellow, Aragorn, or Strider as he is known when we first meet him. If you don’t know the stories, he is introduced as a shady character, a lone wanderer with a non-too-glorious past. Who is he? Can we trust him? What is the secret he is hiding? Two thousand pages later, he turns out to be the rightful king of men and he Gets The Girl.

No-one would have believed that at the start – he neither looked like a king, nor acted like one. But appearances can be deceptive, as we see in today’s reading. Jesus and Strider have a lot in common.

All the time that Strider was wandering around Middle Earth in a grubby cloak, he was the king. It didn’t matter if people knew that or not. It didn’t matter if they acknowledged his authority or not. They could reject him, insult him, try to kill him. Yet he was still the king. Sound like anyone else?

A lot of people were confused about Jesus. They had heard about his being a king, supposedly, but he didn’t dress like a king, he didn’t talk like a king, he certainly didn’t act like a king. So perhaps he wasn’t a king, not really.

If not a king then what? Maybe we can dismiss him as a good teacher. Then we can pick and choose the nice bits he said and agree with them, but ignore the harder stuff. If he’s not a king, we don’t have to obey when we don’t fancy it. We can keep our own little kingdoms.

That certainly would make things easier. When Strider was found to be the rightful heir to the throne of men, not everyone was pleased. The appointed stewards, who had been keeping the throne warm for the last few generations, were none too pleased at the thought of losing control of their kingdom – even though they were only looking after it for the long-awaited king.

It was the same with Jesus. When he turned up and started fulfilling prophecies of another long-awaited king, there were plenty of ‘stewards’ who had become quite used to their borrowed thrones and were not keen to move aside.

Pilate – he had a throne to defend, but he needn’t have worried. Jesus was not after earthly power, although everyone from Satan in the desert to his disciples thought he should be.

The religious folk – They certainly had a kingdom to protect. They had been maintaining the faith of the children of Abraham for centuries and they were not about to let some jumped-up messiah carpenter from the ill-educated north start rocking the boat.

We find it easy to wag a finger at them from the safety of 2000 years, but would we so easily see the truth had Jesus been ruffling feathers here today? These people we criticise for their blindness were the church elders, the well-respected theologians, the conference speakers, the ministers, the house-group leaders of the day. Let us make sure we are not building our kingdoms when we seek to build his.

But what about the smaller kingdoms? We are all stewards of our own little domains. How easy do we find it to hand the reins of power to the rightful king when he asks for them back? The rich young man of Mark 10 wanted to keep a firm grip on the reins of his riches, and money can so often be the place where it is hardest for us to let go.

The uncomfortable truth is that Jesus is king, whether we like it or not. If we welcome him with rejoicing or if we fight to keep the power we think is ours, he is king. If we gladly bow in worship or if we turn our backs and ignore the commands we don’t like, he is king. If we freely offer all our gifts and possessions back to the one who gave them or if we snarlingly guard them as a dog his food bowl, He Is King.

Fay Rowlands

Our Prayers

Almighty and everlasting Lord

Let us remember that Jesus is our king

The Lord of our lives and master of all kingdoms great and small.

As we bow in worship before Him,

help us to put aside delusions of our own power

And submit to Jesus’ will.

Give us the courage to devote our skills, time and possessions,

to serve our Lord and remember that we belong to Jesus.

“It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.”

Amen

Our final hymn today is "Christ Triumphant, Ever Reigning"

Leesfield News 20th November 2021

 Leesfield News

What a beautiful Remembrance Day Service at the War Memorial in Lees Cemetery last Sunday. There was a fantastic turnout from our Community; Royal British Legion - Lees and District Branch, Veterans, Churches, Uniformed Organisations, Sunday Schools, Councillors . . . . all marching proudly as we remembered those who gave their today for our tomorrow. 

This Sunday our congregations would usually have gathered at St Hugh’s School to celebrate St Hugh’s Day, but we were unable to do that due to the ongoing Covid situation. Instead, Revd Amy-Elizabeth led a lovely service for the children in school last Tuesday morning. We’re looking forward to sharing their special day with them next year.

The PCC will meet on Monday 22nd November, 7 pm at St Thomas’ Church, and we’ll be making all the final arrangements for the services and events throughout Advent and Christmas. When complete - the details will all be on these pages.

On Sunday the 28th November at 4:00 pm, we are all invited to the Churches Together Advent Carol Service at the Salvation Army, Roundthorn. This is the first joint service that we've been able to hold for nearly 2 years, so it will be great to join together in worship once again.

Sunday Worship 14th November

Worship on Remembrance Sunday 

This morning's Parish Eucharist is at the earlier time of 9.15 am at St Thomas' Church, and there will be no service at St Agnes'. Following the service at St Thomas' we will assemble at Lees Library along with the Royal British Legion to process down to Lees Cemetery for a united Act of Remembrance.

Our first hymn this morning is "O Valiant Hearts"

Today's Gospel

Mark 13: v1-8   Signs of the End of the Age

As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”

“Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will be thrown down.”

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”

Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

Reflection

In this Gospel Jesus makes reference to the constancy of war and nations rising against nations which is perhaps apt given this coincides with Remembrance Sunday. Last year we did not have a service for Remembrance Day due to the lock down. So I have chosen to share with you the sermon that would have been preached in 2020.

It is eternally important that we remind ourselves of the dreadful cost of war if we are ever to live in peace. The most compelling outward sign of our remembrance is the simple red flower, the Flanders Poppy. It has become the symbol of the Royal British Legion, but more than that, across the world, it has come to represent the sacrifice made by all those men, women and children who have given their lives in conflict.

From early history flowers have become symbols; Clover leaf for the Holy Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Lilies for purity, Roses for love and for England, Daffodils for the Marie Curie charity and for Wales, Thistle for Scotland and the Shamrock for Ireland. But, how was the poppy chosen as the universal symbol of remembrance?

As you might expect, it began with a death, the death of a friend of a man called John McCrae in 1915 in Belgium. John McCrae was kneeling at the grave of his friend and was moved to write a poem reflecting the scene around him. He wrote:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard among the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields

In 1921, the British Legion began the Poppy Day Appeal to raise money for poor and disabled veterans, and now the Poppy campaign is the Royal British Legion’s most important activity.

As we know, the appeal continues to raise the funding needed to help all service-men and women and their families in the most practical way. However, critically, the appeal serves to maintain our awareness of our past, and present, in order that our prayers for peace, and the future of our families, our children and grandchildren, will be fulfilled.

The bible records much violence, many wars and countless deaths, especially in the Old Testament, and it is a heart breaking reflection that there has probably never been a time when conflict has not existed somewhere in the world both in the past, currently and dare I say it..in the future.

The book of the prophet Micah was written around 700 years before Jesus, and in our reading today he prophesied a future of hope, an ideal world, a world when nations come together in peace instead of war. His words came against a background of violence with the fall of Samaria in the North and instability in the region created by the aggressive superpower of Assyria. However, Micah never lost faith for the future. His vision saw a time when the arms of war would be turned into farming tools and people would live in peaceful community.

Jesus was born into an occupied land, and he lived and died in that occupied land. The Jews were waiting for their king, the Messiah, and they expected him to overthrow the Roman invaders by the traditional, violent, means. You see Peace was not really on the agenda in those New Testament times. Jesus came and taught peace to the disciples and anyone who would hear him, he said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.”

The message that Jesus carried did not suit the Pharisees and religious leaders because he threatened the norm, whatever that is, and anyway he did not fit their idea of the anticipated mighty and all-conquering Messiah. The local Roman authorities were worried that any unrest would reflect badly on them. They wanted a quiet life; peace on their terms was just fine. 

So Jesus, the light of the world, died for us in an act of darkest violence. Three days later, as the Son of God, he rose again in light for us.

Peace is a precious commodity; it comes from trust, patience, tolerance and faith. It is not unilateral, it cannot be “Peace only on my terms”, it results from mutual agreement and understanding. Peace has never been easy to achieve; it is very hard work to establish and keep the peace at any level in our society. Yet regardless of the difficulties, peace must be what we all strive for, what Micah foresaw, what Jesus taught us. The driving force for peace must come from us, it must come from our remembrance of those who have given their lives in war; it must come from those injured in conflict and for their families and loved ones. Peace will not come if we forget; it won’t happen if we wait for others to work for it.

It is through our vigilance, our voice, and our prayers that peace and light will emerge. The poppies, wreaths and crosses that we lay at memorials on Sunday remember not only those from this community who have given their lives. We also remember the injured and their families for whom we have no recorded names. 

The Poppy is our symbol of Remembrance, but let us remember through the remembering of pain and loss that there is always the light of hope, love and faith through Jesus Christ.   

Our prayers

God of Peace 

May each of us be instruments of Your peace.  

Help us be aware of the many opportunities we have to promote peace and justice.  

May we never underestimate the power of our actions.  

Help us to know best to promote peace and justice.  

Amen

Today's final hymn is "Abide With Me"

Sunday Worship 7th November

 Sunday Worship

Image courtesy of Good News Productions International

Everyone is most welcome to join us for our Sunday Eucharist at St Thomas' Church at 11 am or at St Agnes' at 9.15 am. Reverend Lyn will be preaching and presiding on the Third Sunday before Advent at both churches. Some of our Covid precautions remain in place to keep everybody safe, but we'll be singing a couple of hymns and offering refreshments after the service, and Sunday School is now back at St Thomas'. 

Also, at 4 pm at St Thomas' Church we have a service to commemorate All Souls, where we remember all those whom we love and see no more. All are welcome to join us as we light candles and pray for the souls of the dearly departed. 

If you're not able to be with us in person, you can find the Gospel, reflection and prayers below.

Our first hymn today is "The Lord's My Shepherd"

Today's Gospel

Mark 1:14 - 20        Jesus Calls His First Disciples

After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.

When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

Reflection

It was an ordinary Saturday morning in the city.  People were going about their business, shopping, meeting for coffee, chatting in the street. In the midst of it all a man sat down and started to play a ‘cello.  A young girl put a few coins in his hat and stepped back to listen.  As he plays a woman walks calmly out of the crowd, playing a violin.  Then, one by one, every member of the orchestra appears, stepping out of doorways, shops, cafes, playing their own instrument.  As the shoppers notice what is happening, they turn and watch and listen, their faces rapt with amazement.  Smiles break out on tired faces.  Parents dance with their children.  Passers-by find themselves following the direction of a conductor who has appeared out of nowhere and start to sing. No-one can ignore the sheer and simple joy of unexpected harmony.  Everyone is touched by it.  As Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” reaches its crescendo, the crowd erupts into applause.

It had been an ordinary Saturday morning.  It wasn’t ordinary anymore!

Today’s Gospel reading tells us of another “ordinary day” that changed people’s lives for ever. Two brothers, Simon and Andrew, were fishing. Mark emphasises the ordinariness of this – they were fishing because they were fishermen.  As Jesus passed by, he saw them casting their nets.  So far, so ordinary.  But Jesus saw nothing “ordinary”.  He saw two men who, with Him, would change the world.  And when he spoke to them, his words must have had such authority and attraction, that Andrew and Peter didn’t think twice about leaving their nets and going with him. 

 

Then the same thing happened again with two other brothers, James and John. They were engaged in similarly “ordinary activity” – not actually fishing, but mending their nets.  When Jesus called them, they too, dropped everything and followed him.

Just as the music in that city centre stopped everyone in their tracks, so the presence of Jesus at the lakeside made everything else pale into insignificance.  The brothers were captivated by this man whose voice perhaps they had heard, a little earlier, proclaiming that the “the Kingdom of God has come near: repent and believe in the good news”.  To repent is to turn away from one way of life and towards another.  This is exactly what Andrew, Simon, James and John did that day, taking their first steps into the Kingdom of God.  It was not an ordinary day at all.

It was the beginning of Jesus’ life with the disciples.  They had no idea of what lay ahead of them.  He was calling them to a life of relationship and love and miracle.  He was also calling them to sacrifice and pain and death.  And there was an eternal aspect to this calling:  Jesus was calling them to share not just in his earthly life and death – but also in His resurrection.  This day of calling was a day that took their lives into a whole new dimension.  They were ordinary people, just like us – you and me. The call was very simple for them, as indeed it is for us:  Follow me!

Following Jesus is about stepping into the Kingdom of God.  It is a call for each one of us to put our hand into his.  We do this together, but we each ned to make our own choice.  We are all called to live the ordinariness of our lives in the company of Jesus.  Most of us are not called to anything extraordinary, but simply to be faithful to God in the ordinary things.  That may mean looking carefully at our lives and leaving behind anything that distracts us from God.  In 589 AD, St David said, “Be joyful, keep the faith, do the little things.”

And as we do, so we will find ourselves part of the extraordinary kingdom of God, drawing people into it by the genuineness of our love for Jesus and for one another.  Jesus draws us by his love like the music being played in that town square, to share our lives with others, and to be part of something amazing.                                                                         

David

Our Prayers

Holy God,

We ask you to open our ears,

that we may hear you calling us.

Give us the courage to examine our lives,

and put to one side those things that distract us from you.

Strengthen our faith day by day, 

That we may grow closer to you 

and follow you down the path 

that will lead us to your glorious kingdom.

Amen

Today's final hymn is "Will You Come And Follow Me"