This past week the Holiday Bible Club was blessed by a visit from the Saltmine Theatre Company. With their gifts and talents in writing, acting and teaching, Emily, Anisha and Frankie guided us through the “Lost” parables in chapter 15 of the gospel according to Luke. After retelling the parables in their own, original style, they guided the children through different approaches to telling the stories.
Not many of us have the skills to stand up on stage and present bible stories to children. However, God has given us all different gifts. The Holiday Bible Club needs many gifts from singing to first aid, from teaching to making lunch. It is only by working together to combine those gifts that the Holiday Bible Club can happen.
This is true in life and in the church. God calls us to work together, to use our different gifts to do more than any of us could do on our own. This is a central message of Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth. He reminds us that, just like the different parts of the human body, God made us all different so we could work together to do more than any of us could on our own. (See 1 Corinthians chapter 12.)
So, I would like to thank Saltmine for their contribution to this year’s Holiday Bible Club. I would also like to thank everyone else who was involved to make a joyful, thoughtful and creative couple of days.
This Sunday is the fourth Sunday of the month, so we have Holy Communion at 08:00 at all Saints and 10:00 at St Mary’s. At 10:30 at All Saints we have Café Church, where we will continue our journey through the gospel according to John. At Café Church this month, we will be reflecting on the idea of Identity in the light of Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan Woman at Jacob’s well. This story is in the fourth chapter of the gospel.
This gives the following services for this Sunday, 26th July:
| 08:00 | All Saints | Holy Communion (said) |
| 10:00 | St Mary’s | Holy Communion |
| 10:30 | All Saints | Café Church |
In the coming week we have our usual midweek services. Next week is the first Sunday of August, so there is Creative Church at St Mary’s at 10 am and Evensong at 6.30 pm. At 10.30 am there will be Holy Communion at All Saints. This gives the following services for the coming week:
| Wednesday 29th July | All Saints | 09:00 | Celtic Morning Prayer | |
| Thursday 30th July | St Mary’s | 10:00 | Holy Communion | |
| Sunday 2nd August | St Mary’s | 10:00 | Creative Church | |
| All Saints | 10:30 | Holy Communion | ||
| St Mary’s | 18:30 | Evensong |
We thank God for all his gifts and blessings and pray for the wisdom to use them together for the service of others and to his glory.
Yours in Christ
Mark
St Mary's, Fishponds 