St Aidan and St ColumbaHartlepool

May

2021 80p

Parish Directory

Priest in Charge: Mother Gemma Sampson revdgemma@gmail.com Mobile 07780675322St Luke’s Vicarage, 5 Tunstall Avenue, Hartlepool, TS26 8NFAssociate Group Minister: Revd Canon Norman Shave

nshave1@btinternet.com Mobile 07985148034

Reader Mrs Linda Dott Mobile 07876406919

Parish office: St Aidan's Church Vestry Presently closed Administrator Mrs Kathrine Batty – telephone 871814

Mobile 07836796374 staidans.hartlepool@btconnect.com

batty.home@ntlworld.comChurchwardens Miss Jane Spears Tel 277773

Mrs Helen Rochester Tel 273727Deputy Wardens Mrs Vera Thompson Tel 278055

Miss Liz Halford Tel 267575P.C.C. Secretary Mrs Kathrine Batty Tel 871814 P.C.C. Treasurer Mr Tony Batty Tel 871814 Gift Aid Secretary Mrs Helen Rochester Tel 293727 Magazine Mrs Kathrine Batty Tel 871814St Aidan's School - Loyalty Road Head teacher Miss L Chambers Tel 273695

St Columba’s - St Columba's Court Due to the current conditions St Columba’s is closed for all bookings.

Mother Gemma writes ………….

Dearest friends

There have been very few blessings from this pandemic…very few, but the ones we have received have been significant, haven’t they? I wonder what you will take from this past year, and try to hold onto forever? Consider that for a moment… One of the major blessings that I have been truly delighted to share in, this past year, is the opportunity to say mass, from home, 5 mornings each week. We have created quite the online congregation, with many people tuning into our Facebook page every single time. We chat together (me into my phone, them in the comments), pray together, meet our Lord in the bread and wine and have really been growing in faith together. A wonderful ‘zoom prayer room’ has grown out of this, with people meeting weekly, over zoom, from all over the country (and further afield; someone joined us from France last week!), just for an hour on a Wednesday afternoon, to pray. These hours online have sustained me and fed me and kept my spirits up and I want to keep these blessings forever. Recently, we have had a new attender at daily mass. The first time she came was a few weeks ago, and she turned up in the wrong place, assuming I said mass from my lounge. She continued to try to track me down and the next day she turned up in my dining room-cum-oratory and knocked on the window to get in. She distracted me, with her persistent knocking and I struggled to concentrate on the people gathered on the screen of my phone and, instead, enjoyed her dancing and knocking and her joyful determination. I am not talking about your regular attender to the vicarage, no, this was someone, or something, quite unexpected. This was a beautiful, cute, quite round bird, later identified as a longtail tit. I kid you not, every single day this bird knocks on the altar of what is now my little chapel, and she knows where to find me. My sister came to stay, and God spoke to her about this little bird. God told her that this was like when Noah’s ark stopped floating and the bird flew away and returned with an olive branch, so we named the bird Olive.

To me she is a daily and constant reminder of God’s holy spirit – often depicted in both art and scripture as a bird, or a dove. I love the thought that the Holy Spirit is there at every mass, tapping to remind us of Her existence, knocking on the door of our hearts to say, ‘will you let me in to make a home in you today?’, and that She is joyfully determined and very persistent. So, as we follow this ‘roadmap’, tentatively and expectantly out of lockdown, I encourage you to reflect on the past year and consider where your blessings have been found. Many of mine are tied up in those precious little feathers of that tiny little Olive (it actually turns out that there are 7 or 8 Olives in that tree – the Holy Spirit is like that, getting everywhere and always spreading out!), and I hope she will stay forever. But when she leaves, her encouragement and message of hope and comfort will stick around, I’m sure. May you too recognise a year of blessings, because that is the message of the Easter Christ – resurrection out of death, light out of darkness, hope out of despair. And, like Olive, always knocking on the door of our heart to see if he can find a welcome there. With every blessing for this joyful Eastertide Mother Gemma, Maggie and Olive x x x

Our churches are now re-open, in a Covid secure way, keeping you all safe.

Please remember to still wear your facemask in church and maintain social distancing.

Sunday services9.15 am St Luke’s – Holy Communion

10.45 am St Aidan’s – Mass

11.00 am Stranton – Morning Worship

Also remember all our Sunday services are streamed on line

Midweek daily online services9.15 am Mass every day except Fridays

3.00 pm Afternoon prayer and reflection Tuesday, Thursday and Friday

8.00 pm Night Prayer on Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Thank you"I just wanted to say a huge thank you for all the online services and reflections as well as the zoom prayer room. They have sustained and been a great joy to me over the past year, as I am sure they have to many. I would love,love,love them to continue for this coming year (correction …forever!). I can’t say I have a favourite service although if pushed would probably say the Saturday morning Ss Isidore and Carlo prayers mass…… something about praying with a scattered congregation for an eclectic mix of topics during the service and listening to one of the many “Blessings” while rewriting the weekly prayer list is just so full of the Holy Spirit and God’s love.Anyway, THANK YOU all.” Patricia

Communities of Hope

Easter greetings and gracious thanks to everyone from us here at Communities of Hope.

There’s an alternative paschal greeting for you! As spring tentatively stretches out to us and we receive the gift of new hope with the resurrection we too, at Communities of Hope dare to dream of a future not too far away where we will be freer to work and be involved within our community, schools, churches and streets in a way that professes that new life even more loudly. It feels as though a shift is eventually in the air and with it, HOPE.

So now seemed appropriate to reflect and give thanks for the many many ways in which we have been supported, prayed for and encouraged since we were employed last September (it seems like a life time away and yesterday at the same time!), although we have often felt restricted and held back, we are grateful for your presence alongside us in that, we have all waited patiently in the darkness together, but the shortening nights and dawn chorus reflect creation’s confidence that winter will always end and spring will always come, the darkness has not overcome us, and for us personally, that has been helped by the knowledge that our congregations have been steadfast in their hopes and prayers for us all.

Leading up to Easter we have been as busy as ever and had the pleasure & privilege of delivering easter packs full of food, activities & books, to see our families through the Easter holidays, along with that we also delivered Easter eggs provided fully by the generous donations of so many of you – Thank you!Jo has continued to work alongside the kitchen and everyone who comes is offered prayer each week, many of whom have taken her up on that, thanks be to God.

The Wednesday evening before the kitchen is also the ‘Soup run’ for Jo which sees many of those on our streets being fed and given hot drinks, this is a collaboration with other Christians who share our heart for feeding all in need-spiritually, emotionally and physically. This is also reflected in Jo’s outreach work to the ‘ladder streets’ of Elwick Road and increasingly solidifying relationships with many Asylum seekers who are joining her in a bible study with Stranton Church.

We’ve been able to continue our work with St. Aidan’s primary and Open the Book with Mother Gemma over zoom and Eskdale primary have been so welcoming, with us running emotional literacy sessions in class since the re-opening after the latest lockdown.

Good Friday was our first act of Family Worship with Teddy the miniature donkey visiting us at St. Luke’s for our own family based Cross stations with everyone getting their own Easter egg, book and hot cross buns. They got the chance to hammer a nail into a cross, decorate their own prayer pebbles, listen to the Easter story on super comfy cushions and of course, pat Teddy. As we move forward into this liminal space, we humbly ask that you continue to walk with us, to keep praying and being brave enough to hope with us too.

Jess, Jo and Emma

Lessons of Lockdown

This past year may have altered your perspective on life. Some of the following statements may be worth thinking about….

Life is precariousA nurse is worth more than a professional footballerSpare time isn’t a waste of timeA smile is preciousBeing alone isn’t the same as loneliness Hard work doesn’t guarantee employmentI’m spending more on food & drink and less on church & charitySilence opens us to creative ideasSocial media are a mixed blessingShopping needn’t be addictiveDriving less and walking more is good for humanityIsolation teaches us we need each other to generate energyGetting back to ‘normal’ isn’t God’s plan for the human raceWhen everything else is shut, God is open

EASTER, the most joyful day of the year

Easter is the most joyful day of the year for Christians. Christ has died for our sins. We are forgiven. Christ has risen! We are redeemed! We can look forward to an eternity in His joy! Hallelujah!

The Good News of Jesus Christ is a message so simple that you can explain it to someone in a few minutes. It is so profound that for the rest of their lives they will still be ‘growing’ in their Christian walk with God.

Why does the date move around so much? Because the date of Passover moves around, and according to the biblical account, Easter is tied to the Passover. Passover celebrates the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, and it lasts for seven days, from the middle of the Hebrew month of Nisan, which equates to late March or early April.

Sir Isaac Newton was one of the first to use the Hebrew lunar calendar to come up with firm dates for the first Good Friday: Friday 7th April 30 AD or Friday 3rd

April, 33 AD with Easter Day falling two days later. Modern scholars continue to think these two Fridays to be the most likely.

Most people will tell you that Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox, which is broadly true. But the precise calculations are complicated and involve something called an ‘ecclesiastical full moon’, which is not the same as the moon in the sky. The earliest possible date for Easter in the West is 22nd March, which last fell in 1818. The latest is 25th

April, which last happened in 1943.

Why the name, ‘Easter’? In almost every European language, the festival’s name comes from ‘Pesach’, the Hebrew word for Passover. The Germanic word ‘Easter’, however, seems to come from Eostre, a Saxon fertility goddess mentioned by the Venerable Bede. He thought that the Saxons worshipped her in ‘Eostur month,’ but may have confused her with the classical dawn goddesses like Eos and Aurora, whose names mean ‘shining in the east’. So, Easter might have meant simply ‘beginning month’ – a good time for starting up again after a long winter. Finally, why Easter eggs? On one hand, they are an ancient symbol of birth in most European cultures. On the other hand, hens start laying regularly again each Spring. Since eggs were forbidden during Lent, it’s easy to

see how decorating and eating them became a practical way to celebrate Easter. Come, risen Lord, and deign to be our guest

I like the story of the vestry noticeboard of a church in Hampshire: after a Holy Week performance of Stainer’s ‘Crucifixion’, the choirmaster wrote: ‘“The Crucifixion” – well done, everyone!’ Later that day, someone had added, ‘The Resurrection – well done, God!’

For the two disciples treading the road to Emmaus, there was no such sense of victory and celebration. Their minds and hearts were numb with the sense of loss and failure. They had seen their Lord tried and crucified. As Luke recounts that walk in his Gospel, he shows how it began with absence and loss, but journeyed to presence. It was a road that took the disciples from blindness and despair to sight and insight. They talked over past events with the stranger who joined them, and Luke uses ten different Greek words to describe that conversation – all stages in their understanding. And when they share a meal with the stranger, who becomes the host, taking the bread and giving thanks, then the understanding becomes vision and insight.

That meal is the theme of Caravaggio’s painting of 1601, ‘The Supper at Emmaus.’ Caravaggio had a reputation for being a violent, irrational artist, given to bouts of anger and forced to spend part of his life in exile in Naples and Sicily. His paintings as well as his lifestyle shocked and provoked comment. This portrayal of Jesus with a plump, youthful face and his depiction of the apostles as ordinary labourers upset the church authorities. But by giving Jesus a beardless face, Caravaggio was trying to show Him in the new likeness of Resurrection – an Easter image of our Lord. The light from that Easter Jesus fills the scene as the two disciples look on, astonished and finally understanding.

When we read the Gospel, we are drawn into the scene. For Caravaggio the movement is the other way: the scene reaches out to us from the canvas. Look at the outstretched hand of Jesus, the elbow of one disciple and the left hand of the other: they are being projected into our world. And that basket of fruit, full of apples and figs and grapes, symbols of the fall and the eucharist: it is about to topple off the table and into our laps. It is an Easter encounter two thousand years ago, reaching out to us through light and shade and the skill of the artist.

In many ways the Gospel story in Luke is of an ordinary encounter between travellers and a stranger. But it is made extraordinary by the transforming power of the risen Lord, talking with the disciples in the open air and then going inside for a meal. However, the doors are not shut to us. For Caravaggio shows how that special moment of encounter for the two disciples can reach out to enter our world. And he shows the hand of the risen Lord beckoning us to step into that Easter world of sacrament and new life.

‘The Supper at Emmaus’ by Caravaggio hangs in the National Gallery.

Taken for Parish Pump

Jesus’ appearances after His Resurrection

The following list of witnesses may help you put all those references in order….

Mary Magdalene Mark 16:9-11; John 20:10-18Other women at the tomb Matthew 28:8-10Peter in Jerusalem Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5The two travellers on the road Mark 16:12,1310 disciples behind closed doors Mark 16:14; Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-2511 disciples WITH Thomas John 20:26-31; 1 Corinthians 15:57 disciples while fishing John 21:1-1411 disciples on the mountain Matthew 28:16-20A crowd of 500 1 Corinthians 15:6Jesus’ brother – James 1 Corinthians 15:7Those who saw the Ascension Luke 24:44-49; Acts 1:3-8

Easter Story Biscuits for children of all ages

Prep. Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 1 day

Ingredients: 110 grams of pecan nuts 5 grams vinegar 3 egg whites 1 pinch salt 200 grams sugar large plastic bag wooden spoon tape Bible

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 150C

Place pecans in the plastic bag and let the children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.

Read Luke 23:27.

So far, the ingredients are not very appetising...

Add sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Ps. 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the colour white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts.

Drop by teaspoons onto non-stick baking parchment-covered baking sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60.

Put the baking sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66.

GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave them in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers felt despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.

In the morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9.

Ascension Day - 40 Days with the Risen Christ

40 days after Easter comes Ascension Day. These are the 40 days during which the Risen Christ appeared again and again to His disciples, following His death and resurrection. (Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; and John 20.)

The Gospels give us little of Christ’s teachings and deeds during those 40 days. Jesus was seen by numerous of His disciples: on the road to Emmaus, by the Sea of Galilee, in houses, etc. He strengthened and encouraged His disciples, and at last opened their eyes to all that the Scriptures had promised about the Messiah. Jesus also told them that as the Father had sent Him, He was now going to send them - to all corners of the earth, as His witnesses.

Surely the most tender, moving ‘farewell’ in history took place on Ascension Day. Luke records the story with great poignancy: “When Jesus had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, He lifted up His hands - and blessed them.”

As Christmas began the story of Jesus’ life on earth, so Ascension Day completes it, with His return to His Father in heaven. Jesus’ last act on earth was to bless His disciples. He and they had a bond as close as could be: they had just lived through three tumultuous years of public ministry and miracles – persecution and death – and resurrection! Just as we part from our nearest and dearest by still looking at them with love and memories in our eyes, so exactly did Jesus: ‘While He was blessing them, He left them and was taken up into heaven.’(Luke 24:50-1) He was not forsaking them, but merely going on ahead to a kingdom which would also be theirs one day: ‘I am ascending to my Father and to your Father, to my God and your God...’ (John 20:17)The disciples were surely the most favoured folk in history. Imagine being one of the last few people on earth to be face to face with Jesus, and have Him look

on you with love. No wonder then that Luke goes on: ‘they worshipped Him - and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.’ (Luke 24:52,53)No wonder they praised God! They knew they would see Jesus again one day! ‘I am going to prepare a place for you... I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.’ (John 14:2,3) In the meantime, Jesus had work for them to do: to take the Gospel to every nation on earth.

Israel – sea of Galilee to mount of Olives

In last month’s magazine I told you our experience in Jerusalem. We now move to the Sea of Galilee. To a place called Tabgha where the Chapel of the Primacy of St Peter has stood on the shore of the sea of Galilee since the 4 th century AD. It marks the place where Our resurrected Lord showed his third appearance to his disciples. It was here that Jesus told his disciples where to cast their nets to catch one hundred and fifty-three fish, here they shared a meal upon a natural stone called Mensa Christ, Christ’s Table. The stone still stands in the middle of the church, and it was here that Jesus told Simon Peter to feed my sheep making him head of the early church.

It was here too that I felt my closest to Our Lord, we walked along the shore of the Galilean sea like he did with his disciples, and I put my hand into the clear water and picked up a small stone, that stone now sits in my dining room it is one of the most precious items I have.

We then ate a meal of St Peter’s fish. The picture below is exactly what my own meal looked like. Fried St Peter’s fish, beautiful. When our meal was finished, we took a boat trip on the sea, which was calm and so peaceful.

It is said that the Ascension of Jesus took place on the Mount of Olives. It was here that we visited all that remains of the several churches built to celebrate the Ascension is a small octagonal structure on a property that is now part of a mosque.

Plain and unadorned, the Dome of the Ascension stands in a walled compound on the top of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

An unusual feature of the tiny building is that it contains a sacred rock on which tradition sees the imprint left by Jesus’ foot as He ascended into heaven

Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them

to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Matthew Chapter 28

Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their

sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. Acts Chapter 1

Kathrine Batty100 years of the PCC

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

When you next attend a PCC meeting, which is probably more likely to be by zoom than in person, you could say “Happy 100th Birthday!” to your colleagues. It is a hundred years since The Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1921 which was an important stage in the birth of PCCs and parish churches gained the power to run their own affairs, separately from what we now regard as local government.

The religious affairs of a parish, as well as its secular business had been controlled by a single committee, which met in the church and was known as the ‘Vestry’. Then, in 1894, Parish Councils were formed to deal with secular matters; the Vestry continued to oversee church affairs until 1921, when Parochial Church Councils (PCC) were established. People still get confused by the two.

Churchwardens have been around since the 13th Century and legally ‘own’ the movable contents of the church. They are meant to maintain order in the church and churchyard, with the assistance of their staves, if necessary. In the event of serious disorder today, a mobile phone might be a safer instrument, with staves reserved for ceremonial occasions! Churchwardens are now chosen by parishioners, though the Incumbent (i.e. Vicar or Rector) has a limited right of veto.

Today, anyone on the Electoral Roll of the church (sorry, this is another confusion, for the secular Electoral Roll is entirely separate) can attend the Annual Parochial Church Meeting, which elects the PCC. The Incumbent is an ex officio member, as are other licensed clergy and Churchwardens, members of

the Deanery Synod, plus any member of the Diocesan Synod and General Synod who lives in the parish or is on the Roll. The Incumbent chairs the PCC, which elects a Vice-Chair and appoints a Standing Committee to transact business between meetings.

The purpose of a PCC, which must meet at least four times a year, is to consult together with the Incumbent “on matters of general concern and importance to the parish”, and that includes the “whole mission of the Church”. Did you know that changes to the forms of service, or the vesture or the minister, can only happen after consultation?

Inevitably, money and building maintenance take up a lot of room on the Agenda, though we all know they are less important than mission. It’s a real challenge for every PCC member to pray for non-churchgoing parishioners and to find imaginative ways of introducing them to Christ and His Church.

This year our Annual Parish Meeting will be held on Monday April 26th at 6.00pm in St Aidan’s and live streamed on our Facebook page.

Donations

If you would like to make a donation to our church which helps towards our mission and our community, you can do any of the following things

1. Send a cheque made payable to St Aidan’s PCC to Mr T Batty

St Aidans and St Columba’s Treasurer C/O 36 Newark Road Hartlepool TS25 2JX

2. Send by BAC to account 15415262 sort code 050974

Please remember to Gift Aid your donation if you canFor those who are missing the pew sheet, thank you Brian for these sentences that actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced at church services. The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals. The sermon this morning: 'Jesus Walks on the Water. 'The sermon tonight: 'Searching for Jesus.' Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.

Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help Miss Charlene Mason sang 'I will not pass this way again,' giving obvious pleasure to the congregation. For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs. Next Thursday there will be try-outs for the choir. They need all the help they can get. Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days. A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.

At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be 'What Is Hell?' Come early and listen to our choir practice.Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones. Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered. The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility. Pot-luck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow. The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.

This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.

The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the Congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.

Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.

The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.

The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new campaign slogan last Sunday:

‘I Upped My Pledge-–Up Yours.'

100 years of the British Legion

One hundred years ago, on 15th May 1921, the British Legion was founded in the aftermath of the First World War, to provide support to veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants.

It was created at a time when two million people were unemployed. More than six million had served in the war: of those who came back, 1.75 million had suffered some kind of disability, and half of those were disabled permanently.

Four organisations came together at the instigation of Lancastrian Lance Bombardier Tom Lister, who was angered at the Government’s unwillingness to help, and Field Marshal Earl Haig, who had been Commander in Chief of the British Forces. The Legion campaigned for fair treatment of those who had given everything for their country, and it continues this work today.

In 1922, the Legion’s poppy factory opened in the Old Kent Road, London, with 40 disabled men manufacturing 1000 poppies a week. The first Poppy Day was held that same year. The Festival of Remembrance began in 1927, and the Legion became ‘Royal’ in 1971 – 50 years ago – on its golden anniversary.

At first membership of the Legion was confined to ex-Service personnel, but it was expanded to include serving members of the Forces in 1981.

15 th May - Matthias the Apostle, called by lots

Have you ever happened to be in the right place at the right time, with certain qualifications, and suddenly realise that God is singling you out for a special task? If so, Matthias is a good patron saint for you!

In Acts 1 (15 – 26) the apostles had a task to do: Judas had betrayed Jesus and died, and so a new apostle needed to be chosen. He had to have been a follower of Christ from the Baptism to the Ascension, and also a witness of the Resurrection in order to qualify. In the event, the choice fell to one of two: Joseph Barsabas and Matthias. Lots were drawn, and Matthias was chosen. He gets just one mention in the Bible, in the first chapter of Acts, immediately prior to the day of Pentecost, where it tells us that he was elected to take the place in the ranks of the twelve apostles recently vacated by the betrayer Judas Iscariot.

How confident he must have felt in his calling: what encouragement that would be when the going got rough in later years! Matthias is thought to have ministered in Cappadocia and even Ethiopia. His emblem is usually an axe or halberd, regarded as the instrument of his martyrdom. His supposed relics were translated from Jerusalem to Rome by the empress Helena.

Be that as it may, Matthias was elected, and for us he can stand for all those excellent, consistent, reliable and faithful servants of Christ who never make a headline, not even in the parish magazine. Yet still he was chosen because he could be a ‘witness’, and so are we.

St Mattias is sometimes shown with a bible and an axe because it is believed he was killed by an axe

An Altar in the World - by Barbara Brown Taylor

I bought this book because it was highly recommended and the internet is bursting with positive reviews. (I admit I haven’t seen or read a negative review.)Maybe I was expecting too much? Don’t get me wrong it is worth reading it just wasn’t as brilliant as I was expecting.

In a nutshell the" whole world is the House of God.”(p. 4, An Altar in the World)

The author continues 'Who had persuaded me that God preferred four walls and a roof to wide-open spaces? When had I made the subtle switch myself, becoming convinced that church bodies and buildings were the safest and most reliable places to encounter the living God? (p. 4)”

It is elegantly written and suggests as well as reflecting on different ways/practices to worship and recognise God in our everyday lives. (None of which seems to involve a consecrated building) The practices are given their own chapters:1. practice of waking up to God 2. practice of paying attention 3. practice of wearing skin4. practice of walking on the earth5. practice of encountering others6. practice of living with purpose7. practice of saying no8. practice of feeling pain9. practice of being present to God

10. practice of pronouncing blessingsThe author includes poetry, prayers and other meaningful quotations from a number people across centuries as well as personal anecdotes.

My favourite quote (could be because I am a weightwatcher!) is not some profound acknowledgement that God is everywhere and there is an abundance of such but “…I think it is important to pray naked in front of a full-length mirror sometimes, especially when you are full of loathing for your body.” It continues by suggesting loads of ways we might not be content with our bodies before eventually we need to say to God, “Here I am. This is the body-like-no-other that my life has shaped. I live here. THIS IS MY SOUL’S ADDRESS.” (pages 37 and 38) The description just appealed to me!

I am very happy to loan this book to you so you can form your own opinion.Given the choice between this book and a one previously reviewed “This is God’s Table” I would go for the latter.

Patricia Contact details m.07708131650 📞01429 869982 💻patriciawatson2@gmail.com

Crossword

Take some time out and have a go at this Crossword. Hopefully you can sit in the garden.

ACROSS8 ‘He poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the — ’ (Isaiah 53:12) (13)9 ‘When they had sung a hymn, they went — to the Mount of Olives (Matthew 26:30) (3)10 Comes between Galatians and Philippians (9) 11 ‘Your heart will — and swell with joy’ (Isaiah 60:5) (5) 13 Muslim holy month (7) 16 Ten ears (anag.) (7) 19 Under (poetic abbrev.) (5) 22 How Abram described himself to God when he complained that his inheritance would pass to a servant (Genesis 15:2) (9)24 ‘Go to the —, you sluggard’ (Proverbs 6:6) (3) 25 Debar from receiving Communion (13)

DOWN1 My — for His Highest (Oswald Chambers’ best-known book) (6) 2 Festival of the resurrection (6) 3 ‘His sons will prepare for war and — a great army’ (Daniel 11:10) (8) 4 ‘Let not the — string his bow’ (Jeremiah 51:3) (6) 5 Name of the River Thames in and around Oxford (4) 6 ‘From then on Judas watched for an opportunity — — him over’ (Matthew 26:16) (2,4) 7 ‘But Christ is faithful — — — over God’s house’ (Hebrews 3:6) (2,1,3) 12 Long-handled implement used to till the soil (Isaiah 7:25) (3) 14 Order to which monks and nuns devote themselves (8) 15 Appropriate (Proverbs 15:23) (3) 16 I, uncle (anag.) (6) 17 ‘They gave him — — of broiled fish’ (Luke 24:42) (1,5) 18 ‘Weren’t there three men that we — — and threw into the fire?’ (Daniel 3:24) (4,2) 20 Mountain where Noah’s ark came to rest (Genesis 8:4) (6) 21 ‘Don’t you know that friendship with the world is — towards God?’ (James 4:4) (6) 23 Prominent architectural feature of large cathedrals such as St Paul’s (4)

Pentecost in Jerusalem

On that long ago first morning of Pentecost, Jerusalem was crowded with thousands of visitors, for it was one of the most popular feast-days in the Jewish calendar – the Feast of Firstfruits, looking forward to the wheat harvest.

In one small room of that great city, a small group of people who had followed Jesus were praying. There was nothing else for them to do: Jesus had died, He had risen, and He had ascended, promising to send them ‘a Comforter’. They

were left alone, to wait at Jerusalem. And so, they waited – on Him, and for Him.

They were not disappointed, for that morning the Holy Spirit fell upon that small room, and transformed those believers into the Church, Christ’s body here on earth. Pentecost was not the first time that the Holy Spirit came to the world – throughout the Old Testament there are stories telling of how God had guided people and given them strength. But now His Spirit would use a new instrument: not just isolated prophets, but the Church, His body on earth.

Acts opens with the preaching of the gospel in Jerusalem, the centre of the Jewish nation. Within 30 years the Gospel had spread throughout the northern Mediterranean: Syria, Turkey, Greece, Malta... to the very heart of the Roman Empire: Rome. The Church was on the move – God was on the move! He was calling people from every nation to repent, turn to Jesus for forgiveness of their sins, and to follow Him.

Trinity Sunday: Celebrating our God who is Three Persons

Trying to explain the doctrine of the Trinity has kept many a theologian busy down the centuries. One helpful picture is to imagine the sun shining in the sky. The sun itself – way out there in space, and unapproachable in its fiery majesty – is the Father. The light that flows from it, which gives us life and illuminates all our lives, is the Son. The heat that flows from it, and which gives us all the energy to move and grow, is the Holy Spirit. You cannot have the sun without its

light and its heat. The light and the heat are from the sun, are of the sun, and yet are also distinct in themselves, with their own roles to play.

The Bible makes clear that God is One God, who is disclosed in three persons: Father, Son (Jesus Christ) and Holy Spirit. For example:

Deuteronomy 6:4: ‘Hear O Israel, The Lord our God, the Lord is one.’Isaiah 45:22: ‘Turn to me and be saved… for I am God, and there is no other.’Genesis 1:1-2: ‘In the beginning God created…. and the Spirit of God was hovering…’ Judges 14:6: ‘The Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power…’John 1:1-3: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.’

Luke 24:49 actually manages to squeeze the whole Trinity into one sentence. Jesus tells His disciples: ‘I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power (the Holy Spirit) from on high.’

In other words, the sun eternally gives off light and heat, and whenever we turn to its brilliant light, we find that the warmth and life there as well.

The Angels of God are Rejoicing

Christ is Risen: The world below lies desolateChrist is Risen: The spirits of evil are fallen

Christ is Risen: The angels of God are rejoicingChrist is Risen: The tombs of the dead are emptyChrist is Risen indeed from the dead, the first of

the sleepers,

Glory and power are his forever and ever.— St. Hippolytus of Rome

Crossword answersACROSS: 8, Transgressors. 9, Out. 10, Ephesians. 11, Throb. 13, Ramadan. 16, Nearest. 19, Neath. 22, Childless. 24, Ant. 25, Excommunicate.

DOWN: 1, Utmost. 2, Easter. 3, Assemble. 4, Archer. 5, Isis. 6, To hand. 7, As a son. 12, Hoe. 14, Monastic. 15, Apt. 16, Nuclei. 17, A piece. 18, Tied up. 20, Ararat. 21, Hatred. 23, Dome.

Church Legacy - a Lasting Gift to your Church

At St Aidan’s and St Columba’s we welcome all gifts in wills, however large or small, and we promise to use your gift to make a difference in our parish.

You can be confident that your gift will be used to make a real difference to our future mission and ministry.

Church Legacy - a Lasting Gift to your Church

At St Aidan’s and St Columba’s we welcome all gifts in wills, however large or small, and we promise to use your gift to make a difference in

our parish.

You can be confident that your gift will be used to make a real difference to our future mission and ministry.

St Aidan’s Church

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