Sunday Worship 27th February

Sunday Worship

Our services on the last Sunday before Lent are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes' and 11.00 am at St Thomas'. If you are unable to be with us in person, you can find the Gospel, a short reflection and a prayer below.

Luke 9:28-36             “The Transfiguration”

Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"--not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

Reflection

We hear the story of the Transfiguration in the Gospel today, though the feast for this is on the 6th August. 

I feel I learn something from this story every year, and this time I am drawn to the line, “now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep…” The pull of tiredness can be overwhelming after a long day but when we are overtired in our hearts and minds, we can fall asleep to what is going on around us. There is another story of Jesus praying and the disciples wrestling with sleep in the garden of Gethsemane. They are weighed down with grief and miss staying present with their Lord who would be taken from them that night. As we travel towards Lent in a few days, think about the ways in which we can stay awake to the call of Jesus, how can we keep our light lit and our hearts alert to Him? If we as disciples start to nod off, help us Lord to keep our eyes fixed on you and not ourselves.    

Amy Elizabeth 

Prayer

Holy God, eternal and immortal.
Your true magnificence is beyond our human comprehension.
You showed your full glory to Peter, John and James
In the presence of Moses and Elijah.
As Jesus prayed and talked with the prophets,
You commanded His disciples to Listen to Him,
Help us too to open our ears
And listen to your will as we pray.

Radiant God, source of light,
as you transformed Jesus and showed us his glory,
so, you come to us in blinding brightness.
Let us also witness your glory and splendour
and feel the presence of our Lord Jesus
Whose love for us lights the world.  
Amen

 

Leesfield News 25th February

 Leesfield News

Prayers are asked for the people of Ukraine, and St Thomas' Church will be open on Saturday so that any members of the public who wish to pray may do so. A prayer is shown below for your use.

This Sunday's services are at the usual times of 9.15 at St Agnes' and 11 am at St Thomas'. On Shrove Tuesday our normal service of Holy Communion will be at St Thomas' Church at 10 am, and our Ash Wednesday service is at 7.30 pm, also at St Thomas'. 

Sunday Worship 20th February

 Sunday Worship

Services in Leesfield Parish are at the usual times this morning - 9.15 at St Agnes' Church and 11.00 at St Thomas'.

If you're not able to join us in person you are most welcome to download a service transcript for the Second Sunday before Lent from our good friends at St Barnabas Clarksfield and Holy Trinity Waterhead. Please click here for the link - medlockhead 2022-02-20

There is also a link on or parish facebook page - Leesfield Parish to a Church of England service, which comes from Cornwall this week and is very appropriately on the subject of Jesus calming the storm.

Sunday Worship 13th February

 Sunday Worship

Today is Racial Justice Sunday, so as well as our own parish services there is a special on-line Church of England service. The service comes from within the Diocese of Manchester, and you can access it from 9 am onwards via our facebook page - facebook.com/leesfieldparish

Revd Amy-Elizabeth has also written this short piece for Racial Justice Sunday - 

Sunday 13th February is Racial Justice Sunday in England and Ireland. You may think this has nothing to do with you, but it does. The Church of England says “Racial Justice Sunday is for all churches to reflect on the importance of racial justice, to give thanks for the gifts and beauty of human diversity, and to commit to end racism and acts of discrimination”. The six pastoral principles from the Church of England’s “Living in Love and Faith" project are: acknowledge prejudice, speak into silence, address ignorance, name fear, admit vulnerability, pay attention to power, commit to action. Churches together asks us all to remember the importance of Racial injustice, reflect on human diversity, and respond by working to end injustice, racism and ignorance through prayer and action.

All are welcome to join us for Sunday Worship on the Third Sunday before Lent. Our services are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes' and 11 am at St Thomas'.

Although Plan B restrictions have now been lifted, we do still have some Covid precautions in place to keep everyone safe. If at all possible, please do wear a face covering in church, and maintain safe distancing.  

If you are unable to be with us in person, you can find today's Gospel, a reflection, prayers and a couple of hymns below.

Our first hymn this morning is "When I Needed a Neighbour"

Today's Gospel

Luke 6:17-26                Blessings and Woes

Jesus came down with the twelve apostles and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

Then he looked up at his disciples and said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,

for yours is the kingdom of God.

“Blessed are you who are hungry now,

for you will be filled.

“Blessed are you who weep now,

for you will laugh.

“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets."

"But woe to you who are rich,

for you have received your consolation.

"Woe to you who are full now,

for you will be hungry.

"Woe to you who are laughing now,

for you will mourn and weep.

"Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets."

Reflection

Only a few minutes ago, before I started to write this short piece, I was discussing some work I needed doing with a plasterer. There was much talk about uneven walls and surfaces and the need to level things out. So, the first line of this Gospel jumped out; “Jesus … stood on a level place”. He didn’t set himself at the top of a hill or on a platform, he found a level place. In fact, before he makes his address to the crowds, we are told that “he looked up at his disciples. 

That is the point which is then echoed by his words, Jesus does not set himself above us and look down on us, he comes to us on our level. He came to us in flesh and shared our experiences. He places himself on our level so that he can metaphorically and actually see eye to eye with us. 

When he talks about woes, Jesus is not saying that that it is inherently bad to be rich, fed or well liked. Rather he is warning us that we should not seek and worship these things to the exclusion of our attention to God. We all need to be God-centred and not fall into the trap of being self-satisfied or self-centred. More importantly we are charged to put ourselves on a level place and not look down on those who are less fortunate. We are told that power came out from Jesus and healed all of those that needed it - no mention of background, race, or creed.  That is the promise that He makes – God sees and loves every one of us -He wants to bless all of us. How can we respond to that overwhelming love? Jesus is not asking us to give up everything and live a life of hardship and loneliness - He is inviting us to put ourselves on a level plane, to put ourselves at his disposal, to keep our faith and trust with God and to love our neighbours. He is inviting us to follow him because when we too find ourselves in a lower place of trouble or hardship, we will know that He will be standing with us, on our level, ready to bless us in our time of need.               Paul 

Our Prayers

Loving God, you see every one of us whether we are wealthy or poor, well fed or hungry

You are by our side and bless us when times are hard and we are struggling.

Help us to hunger for your grace and blessing

 and not be distracted by earthy belongings and selfish ways.

We pray that we may receive your reward in Heaven where all will be in a level place.

In Jesus name. Amen

Our final hymn is "How Lovely on the Mountains (Our God Reigns)

Leesfield Parish News

 Leesfield Parish News

Well, we're gradually starting to get back to normal, and events are happening around the parish. Here are a few details of what's coming up soon, and we'll provide regular updates. 

Harvest Queen Annie & her retinue are raising money on ALL TWOS DAY 22/2/22 (or around that date) and are asking everyone to join in and raise their own £22.22 by being sponsored or selling things or whatever you want to raise the £22.22 😊

Here’s a few ideas;
Bake 22 goodies and sell to your neighbours or family and friends 🍰🧁🍪
Help family with 22 jobs 🧽 🚗 🧹🪣
Score 22 goals 🥅 ⚽️ or 22 tries 🏉 
Swim 22 widths/lengths of the pool 🏊🏻‍♂️ 
Read 22 books 📚
Walk or Run 22km 🏃‍♂️ 

Use your imagination and use the number 22 to inspire you.  We can’t wait to see and hear your creative ideas. 😁

As Lent approaches, there will be special services in our churches and schools. Full details will be published here as soon as they are available.

Please see the poster for changes to Worship for all Generations services. 

Worship for all Generations is a family service led by our Authorised Lay Minister, Neil Crook. The service includes prayers, Bible readings, songs and a talk, with some participation from you. Everyone is most welcome to come along and join us!

The Ladies of Leesfield have now recommenced their regular monthly meetings and other activities in the Community Room at St. Thomas’ Church. We are a group of Christian Ladies who meet for companionship, friendship and hopefully - FUN.

Coffee mornings are held on the first Saturday of each month at 10.30 am, and our meetings are on the third Tuesday monthly at 2 pm. 

Although we usually start with a prayer, we are not a prayer group. We have guest speakers on a variety of topics, quiz nights (just fun - not Mastermind), and coffee evenings. Please don’t be shy - just ask one of our ladies in church or just turn up. You will be made most welcome (You don't have to be a lady, or from Leesfield, to come along).

Our Deanery Eco Champion, Matt Carson, produces a monthly paper about what's going on within local churches to look after God's Creation. You can read all about it here - The Eco Echo February 2022

Finally, Churches Together in Lees and District are re-starting the extremely popular Lent Lunches this year. The focus is the film "I, Daniel Blake", which is what we had started in 2020 but had to abandon after the first session because of the lockdown. All are most welcome to join us - see the poster for details.

Sunday Worship 6th February

 Sunday Worship

All are welcome to join us for Sunday Worship on the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany. Our services are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes' and 11 am at St Thomas'.

Although Plan B restrictions have now been lifted, we do still have some Covid precautions in place to keep everyone safe. If at all possible, please do wear a face covering in church, and maintain safe distancing.  

If you are unable to be with us in person, you can find today's Gospel, a reflection, prayers and a couple of hymns below.

Our first hymn today is "I, the Lord of Sea and Sky"

Today's Gospel

Luke 5:1-11              The Calling of the First Disciples

Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets." When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 

So they signalled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. 

Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

Reflection

The lectionary gives us powerful stories of calling today. Isaiah says these words in answer to God’s call “Here am I, send me!” and Peter who was doubtful over the fishing instructions given by Jesus says, “yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 

Both stood in the presence of the Lord, full of awe and terrified, yet deep within trust Him with all their heart. Both don’t think they are up to the job but God trusts them and equips them in their doubt and nervousness. 

It is a comfort to us that even when we think we are not up to the job of doing God’s will, God trusts and believes we can with His help and guidance. What we take away from these stories is that God calls us and part of that calling is being in a relationship with Him. He longs for us to rely on Him, longs for us to trust in His word, and even if things don’t always go to plan, we say sorry and return to Him. 

He who forgives all – always.     Amy Elizabeth 

Our Prayers

Gracious God,

Thank you that you call us to be disciples, sent out to continue your work.

Open our ears to hear your call 

and let us, like Isaiah, reply with courage - “Here I am Lord”.

Lord of all wisdom, guide us in truth, peace and love

to profess our faith and the Good News of your kingdom,

And let us praise and thank you with all our hearts.

In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Our final hymn this morning is "Will You Come and Follow Me"

Candlemas - 2nd February

 Candlemas

Today we celebrate the feast of Candlemas in the Christian Calendar, and you can find a transcript of the service from St Barnabas and Holy Trinity by clicking on this link - 2022-02-02--Candlemas.pdf

Many Christians delay taking their Christmas decorations down until the eve of Candlemas, rather than twelfth night, and Reverend Amy-Elizabeth referred to this in her sermon on Sunday. If you would like to read  the sermon you'll find it here - 2022-01-30 -- Epiphany 4 sermon).pdf .

Finally, just because it's a lovely hymn and it's all about light - here is "Longing for Light, We wait in Darkness (Christ be our Light)"