Before we decided to move to Bristol, there was a charming story in the national news that endeared me to this city.  Following troubles and riots, many were very angry with the Mayor, Marvin Rees.  In protest, someone painted a message on the road just outside his house with the message: “Marvin must die”.  Soon enough, the police were called and cordoned off the area – but not before, one of his neighbours had added a ‘T’.  So, now the message read: “Marvin must diet”!

Each one of us is allowed to be angry – but sometimes that is not all that has to be said.  Take an example from today: painting the middle of a mini-roundabout with a flag of St George.  Is that a message saying “we are proud to be British” (and, by implication: “migrants out!”)?  Yes, be proud to be British, but I believe you are required then to complete the sentence – WHY are you proud to be British?  And the answer cannot just be “because we hate the French”!

Occasionally, you might hear in a documentary a story about someone who came to this country and her life was turned around.  She will tell how, on arriving here, she felt safe, was enabled to go to university, raise a family and provide a future of hope for her children.  She is, very evidently, proud to live in this country – and we should be proud to be part of this country which made this happen.  How can we enable such a voice (of which there are thousands of examples) to be better heard?

This coming weekend, we mark the Dedication Festival of St Mary’s, partly by hearing the Gospel reading of the Magnificat.  It expresses not only Mary’s pride in her God, but also names why – God is the one who raises the lowly, and who feeds the hungry.  Mary was a single teenage mother.  Thank God a voice was found for her so that, even today, we can sing God’s praise, associate ourselves with God’s compassionate works and give hope to those in need.

Revd Bob

SUNDAY 14^th SEPTEMBER SERVICES

8am – Holy Communion – All Saints

10am – Sung Eucharist – St Marys 

10.30am – Muddy/Messy Church Reptile Experience

7.15pm – Generations – All Saints

THE WEEK AHEAD

Mon 15th Sept

10.30am – Tiny Tots – All Saints

Tues 16th Sept

10.30am – Music for Toddlers – St. Mary’s Parish Rooms

Weds 17th Sept

9.00am – Celtic Morning Prayer – All Saints

2.30pm – Bible Book Club – All Saints

Thurs 18th Sept

10:00am – Holy Communion – St. Mary’s

Fri 19th Sept

11.00am – Living After Loss – St. Mary’s

12.30pm – 2.00pm – Concert performance – St. Mary’s

Sat 20th Sept

12.00pm – 2.00pm – Saturday Lunches – St. Mary’s

Sun 21th Sept

10.00am – Sung Service of the Word – St. Mary’s

10.30am – Holy Communion – All Saints

August can be a strange month. For many it’s a time of holidays – especially those having to fit in their vacations with schools. Yet on the flip side it’s also when students get their exam results, with all the attendant worry and excitement that goes with it. It brings us this coming last Bank Holiday until Christmas. I always remember hating to see all the ‘back to school’ signs in the supermarkets reminding me that my lovely 6 week break was coming to an end!! Mind you-I’m sure a fair few parents also count those days down with anticipation! We also notice the nights starting to get dark again and the first hints of autumn.

Change-good and bad-is a fundamental part of life. No matter how hard we may fight it, we can’t avoid it. The future is something that can excite or terrify us, the past often becomes distorted through nostalgia. I now seem to view the 1980s as the best period ever simply because I was young then with hair and lots of energy. We have to be so careful that this nostalgia doesn’t blur our vision of the present and dictate how we look at the future.

In our Gospel reading this Sunday the disciples argue about which of them  would be regarded as the greatest. They’re projecting to a future they don’t understand rather than being present in that moment with Jesus. He in turn challenges their views on authority but also promises them thrones to judge alongside him-a somewhat contradictory message but one that we can unpack.

Ultimately, we can learn from them to not be defined only by our past and how that might shape our future, but to be in the present moments that’s where our life is happening now, and to not do so means we may miss the bad, but we also miss so much that’s good.

Amen

This Sunday 24 August (Bartholomew the Apostle)

8.00am – Holy Communion – All Saints

10.00am – Holy Communion – St. Mary’s

10.30am – Café Church – All Saints

The Week Ahead

Wednesday 27th August

Morning Celtic Prayer – 9.00am – All Saints Church

AA Meetings – 7.30pm – St. Mary’s Church

Thursday 28th August               

Holy Communion – 10.00am – St. Mary’s Church

Friday 29th August

Living after Loss – 11.00am – St. Marys Church

Saturday 30th August

Saturday Lunches – 12noon to 1.30pm – St. Marys Church

Bishop Viv’s Farewell Service – 3.00pm.   Bristol Cathedral (Tickets required)

Next Sunday 31st August (Eleventh Sunday after Trinity)

8.00am – BCP Holy Communion – All Saints

NO 10.00am at St. Mary’s

10.30am –  Benefice Holy Communion – All Saints

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, evermore. Amen.

Blessings,

Fr Kester de Oliveira 

This Sunday’s reading from the Letter to the Hebrews completes the story of the Old Testament heroes of faith. Last week we heard of Abraham’s faith and how he trusted in God’s promise. This week, having skipped over the epistle’s recounting of the stories of Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses, we have a whistle stop tour of the rest of the Old Testament. The fortunes of these people varied. Some were great kings, warriors, and judges. Some were saved from lions or enemy soldiers. Others, however, suffered mocking, poverty, imprisonment, or execution. However, all of them, through good and bad, kept their faith in God.

The letter then goes on to encourage its readers to follow the example of all those heroes that they had heard about. Whether things are going well or badly, we should persevere in the way that Jesus has set before us. We look to him, who is our example and our leader. He endured the cross, never giving up his faith in his Father or his love for all people.

We have a couple of opportunities to think more about this on Sunday:

We have our usual midweek services. Next Sunday follows our usual fourth Sunday format. This gives the following services for the coming week:

In addition, the bible book club will be looking at Nehemiah in St Mary’s parish rooms on Wednesday 20^th August at 2:00 pm.

So let us pray that the faith described by the letter to the Hebrews may be seen in us:

Lord God,
your Son left the riches of heaven
and became poor for our sake:
when we prosper save us from pride,
when we are needy save us from despair,
that we may trust in you alone,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yours in Christ

Mark

Living by Faith

The word “faith” appears 7 times in the reading from the letter to the Hebrews. “Have a little faith!” is a common pronouncement when trying to encourage ourselves and others to take on something that might on paper look a little daunting but still holds hope and possibility. It is a word that is not just based on “no knowledge” but of some knowledge of the world matched with the humility that we perhaps don’t have as yet the full picture. It is to live in a way that is both hopeful and humble. The world can often feel daunting, unpredictable and strange and yet faith holds firm to the good that is desired and still to come. It is the hope of the world that God made looking ever more closely like the kingdom. One of the loveliest images of the gospel this week is that God, as creator and maker, will welcome us all to sit at table, to join the party, and that God will be both host and server at that kingdom banquet. 

May we continue to be parishes that live in that same faith, hope and humility.

This week our muddy, messy church at All Saints continues with the yearly theme of Animals and will be looking at Wild Animals of the bible – a great opportunity for all the church family to be together in prayer, worship and creativity. We also have an 8am and 10am communion across the parishes.

Services this Sunday – 10^th August.

8am – Holy Communion – All Saints

10am – Sung Holy Communion – St Marys

10.30am – Muddy/Messy Church – “Wild Animal” theme

The Week Ahead

Weds 13th Aug

9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer – All Saints 

Thurs 14th Aug

10:00am  Holy Communion – St. Marys  

Friday 15th Aug

11.00am – Living After Loss – St Marys 

Saturday 16th Aug   

12.00 – 1:30pm – Saturday Lunches  – St Mary’s 

Sunday 17th Aug

10:00am – Holy Communion – St Marys 

10:30am – Holy Communion – All Saints

Blessings and prayers

Lizzie

“Doing Good”

‘The Acts of the Apostles was written about 100 AD, a generation after the first Gospels.  It contains stories about the growth of the church, and reflects some of the concerns they were having, as local Christian communities were becoming more established.  Yet, preserved within these chapters, there are some very early summaries of Jesus’s life.  These verses show how the earliest Christians talked about Jesus, before later refinements were made (such as we say each week in the Creed).  One important early description is found in Acts 10.38, with four different descriptions of Jesus.  Each of these captures something true about Jesus, as they experienced him in his own lifetime, and also as we experience him now.

‘God anointed Jesus with power’: yes, God’s power was evident, as he taught and as he fed people in amazing ways.  ‘Jesus healed those who were oppressed’: yes, Jesus released people trapped by illness, stigma, or lack of love.  ‘For God was with him’: yes, when we meet Jesus, we meet God. 

But my favourite phrase is this: ‘Jesus went about doing good’.  It is such a simple phrase, but it condenses into five words so much of what I believe about Jesus.  Whatever troubles he met, whoever he came across, whatever difficult circumstances he encountered, Jesus simply did good.  He made goodness happen, and not only left people in a better place – but also gave them the power to continue doing good themselves.  In our culture, being a “do-gooder” is a critical description, usually delivered with a sneer. But I don’t think it should be.  How about this wonderful quotation from a Quaker missionary, who was saying in different words what Acts 10.38 is pointing us towards:

“I shall pass this way but once.  Any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

This Sunday’s Worship on 22nd June

8:00 – Holy Communion, All Saints

10:00 – Holy Communion,  St Mary’s

10:30 – Café Church,  All Saints

The Week Ahead

Monday 23rd  June

10.30am Tiny Tots – All Saints 

Tuesday 24th June

10:30am – M4T  – St Mary’s

Weds 25th June 

9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer – All Saints 

Thurs 26th June 

10:00am Holy Communion – St. Marys                           

Saturday 28th June

12:00 – 2:00pm – Saturday Lunches  – St Mary’s 

Sunday 29th June 

8:00am – BCP Holy Communion, All Saints 

10:00am – Holy Communion,  St Mary’s 

10:30am – Holy Communion,  All Saints 

Revd Bob.

This Sunday’s Café Church brings us to the mid-point of our journey through Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. It is also the summit of the mountain we are climbing as we see the grand vista that hope in Christ gives. In chapter 8 of his letter, Paul summarises this hope using three images, which look at the past, present and future. 

Looking to the past, Paul reminds us that “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8.1). The forgiveness that Christ brings allows us to step away from our past failings and put hope in the future. If God does not condemn us, then we do not need to condemn ourselves. This frees us to turn to Christ and follow in his way. It also allows us to return to that way whenever we wander from it. This is what is sometimes called “justification”.

Looking to the present, Jesus has shown us that we have a new relationship with God. The Almighty Creator of all that is wants us to live as his children. This leads to a new relationship with God and with one another. We are family with God as our father. We share in his work in caring for one another and for his creation. To illustrate this, Paul uses the image of “adoption”.

Looking to the future, there is something bigger and better on the way. What we have now is only the first stage of God’s redeeming work. We wait in hope for what God will do next. We do not know what this will look like or when it will be. Paul reminds us that “we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience” (Romans 8.25). This future we hope for is sometimes called “glorification”.

This is the hope that Paul sets before us in Romans 8.1–30: justification, adoption and glorification. We will look more at this on Sunday at all Saints at 10:30. This will help us to “always be ready to make our defence to anyone who demands from us an accounting for the hope that is in us”. (1 Peter 3:15)

In addition, there is Holy Communion at All Saints at 08:00 and at St Mary’s at 10:00.

This gives the Following services for Sunday 25th May:

We have our usual midweek services with Celtic Morning Prayer at 09:00 on Wednesday at All Saints and Holy Communion at 10:00 at St Mary’s on Thursday.

Next Sunday follows our normal first Sunday pattern with Creative Church at St Mary’s at 10:00 and Holy Communion at All Saints at 10:30. In the evening will be Evensong at St Mary’s.

This gives the following services for the coming week:

So, as we look to affirm the hope we have in Christ, let us pray in the words of this Sunday’s collect:

God our redeemer, you have delivered us from the power of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of your Son:
grant, that as by his death he has recalled us to life,
so by his continual presence in us he may raise us to eternal joy;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
Amen

Yours in Christ

Mark