It’s easy, when we are involved in a conflict, to concentrate solely on winning the struggle. But “then what?” What will happen afterwards? It’s a tragedy when relationships are so damaged by one disagreement that they take ages to repair afterwards. We may have focussed too much on getting our own way that we forget that we have to live alongside others after that.
I imagine that we are all tremendously saddened by what is happening in Gaza/Palestine/Israel. But I read the saddest comment this week, from a hard-right Zionist, who said “Israel belongs to the Jews. When there are no more Arabs left within our borders, we Jews will simply live in harmony with each other. There will be endless peace”. Even if you ignore the plight of the Palestinians, is that hope or unrealistic fantasy? Those who achieve their goals by fighting will have fighting in their blood. It will take generations to unlearn that, and to learn the ways of harmony and living with difference.
So much of Jesus’s life and teaching seems to ask us “then what?”. Most of the great parables prompt us to ask “what will happen next?” Or even more: “what should I do next?” Even the resurrection asks that. The resurrection may be the triumph of life over death, of love over evil. But then what? As we turn towards Pentecost, this question urges, encourages us onwards.
Services this Sunday 18th May 2025
10.00 – Sung Holy Communion – St Mary’s
10.30 – Sung Holy Communion – All Saints
12.00 – St Mary’s APCM
Week Ahead
Monday 19th May
10.30am – Tiny Tots – All Saints
Tuesday 20th May
10:30am – M4T – St Mary’s
Weds 21st May
9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer – All Saints
Thurs 22nd May
10:00am – Holy Communion – St. Mary’s
Saturday 24th May
10:00 – 11:30am – Coffee Morning for Christian Aid – St Mary’s
One of my enduring memories as a teenager was being part of a youth pilgrimage to Whitby. After a 70 mile week of walking, we awoke early in the morning at Whitby and made our way to the beach. There a group of 30 young pilgrims and their leaders celebrated communion and had a BBQ on the beach for breakfast. Every time I read John 21, the gospel for this Sunday, and hear how Jesus meets his disciples on the shore of Lake Galilee for a resurrection fish breakfast, I remember this faith moment. We had all been changed by our weeks walking together, tired from our journeying but full of hope for what might be next. May we know and notice this Eastertide the changes that God brings about in our lives, as we pilgrimage together in this season.
Our worship this Sunday 4th May
10am – Creative Church – St Mary’s
10.30am – Holy Communion with Band and Junior Church – All Saints
6.30pm – Evensong – St Mary’s
Plenty of times to join together this weekend, with the Fishponds Arts Trail, Repair cafe and Saturday lunches. The All Saints fair is in a fortnight on Sat 17th May.
The Week Ahead
Monday 5th May
10.30am Tiny Tots – All Saints Tuesday 6th May
10:30am – M4T – St Mary’s Wednesday 7th May
9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer – All Saints Thursday 8th May
10:00am – Holy Communion – St. Mary’s Friday 9th May
12.30pm – Concert – St Mary’s Saturday 10th May
12.00 – 2:00pm – Saturday Lunches – St Mary’s Sunday 11th May
8.00am – Holy Communion – All Saints 10:00am – Holy Communion– St Mary’s 10:30am – Muddy Messy Church 11.30am – All Saints APCM 7.15pm – Generations – All Saints
It’s that wonderful time of year when Spring feels really tangible. After the cold and dark of winter we start to see sunshine and colour everywhere. The days are longer and brighter, and you can smell the new fragrances of Spring in the air.
We are celebrating Christ’s resurrection, the event that remade us as Easter people, a rebirth-the spring-of our own lives of faith. It is appropriate that we are doing so this coming Sunday in a Joint Benefice Service at St Marys to celebrate as a whole church community. Like Spring, this is a wonderful time, but also one of promise. Nature does not stay permanently in Spring.
Spring is beautiful, but part of that beauty is its transitory nature. Christ’s resurrection is our spiritual spring, but then it becomes the spiritual summer with his ascending to be once more with God and the gifting of the Holy Spirit. Our own spiritual spring leads onto our spiritual summer where we grow and develop,
Thomas, aka Doubting Thomas, represents an important part of this faith journey. He is not reprimanded for his question. Instead, Jesus responds and provides the answer he seeks. And he continues to do so when we also ask questions. God does not force blind, unexplored faith. Our journeys with faith are unique and are all the richer for their questions, their times of doubt and reflection. God welcomes our most honest and heartfelt questions and will provide an answer-even if it is not immediately or not in the way we expect. Thomas is our example, so instead of Doubting Thomas he can be Bold Thomas, Thoughtful Thomas, even Faithful Thomas.
Amen
This Sunday 27th April (Second Sunday of Easter)
8.00am Holy Communion – All Saints
10.00am Joint Benefice Service Holy Communion – St. MarysNB. NO 10.30am service at All Saints
The Week Ahead
Monday 28th April
Tiny Tots – 10.30am All Saints Community Hall
Beavers – 6.15pm. All Saints Community Hall
Wednesday 30th April
Celtic Morning Prayers – 9.00am. All Saints Church
Thursday 1st May
Holy Communion – 10.00am. St. Mary’s Church
Cubs – 6.30pm. All Saints Community Hall
Scouts – 8.00pm. All Saints Community Hall
Friday 2nd May
Living after Loss – 11am to 12noon. St. Mary’s Church
Saturday 3rd May.
Coffee Morning & Repair Café – 10am to 12noon. All Saints Church
Saturday Lunches – 12noon to 1.30pm. Please note the change of time
Next Sunday 4th May (Third Sunday of Easter)
10.00am Creative Church – St. Mary’s
10.30am. Holy Communion – All Saints
6.30 Evensong – St. Mary’s
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
This Sunday we begin our Candlemas celebrations. A pivot point between Christmas and the beginnings of Lent. In the gospel story from Luke, we hear how Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to the Temple to be “presented”. A ritual of thanksgiving for a new child and also what was the re-entry into society for a mother. It is a delicate, vulnerable and yet heart warming pilgrimage that they make. At one point Mary hands over the baby Jesus to Simeon, an ancient priest who had been waiting for that moment all of his life – to hold the Saviour of the World in his arms. We all have to delicately hand over precious people at times in our lives. With hearts in our mouth that we hope that the person receiving them will not drop them (always my fear with babies!) and to entrust to others the care of our most dear and loved ones. It happens at baptisms, weddings and funerals. It happens at the school gate, the work door and thresholds to nursing homes. We do so always in trust – that like Jesus, that they will be received, blessed, adored and recognised for who they are. It is a source of trust that needs a lighted path, and so as we begin our Candlemas festivities come to church to have your own candles blessed, to hear the good news and to trust that the God holds us tightly in love and care.
This Sunday’s Services – 2nd February 2025
10.00am – Creative Church – St Mary’s – (Theme is Scripture)
10.30am – Holy Communion with Junior Church and Band – All Saints
I wonder what our first thoughts are when we think of what a King is.
There are the historic kings with their penchant for lopping off heads (I see you Henry VIII) and sending troops off to conquer places that don’t belong to them. Then there are the kings depicted in art and media, those of fantasy and biography. Some are heroic forces for good, others evil and destructive, and some are comic.
Kings can be seen as vital links to heritage and tradition. Others see them as outdated and irrelevant. These sides can veer towards extremism in their passion, and history attests to this.
But then, is a king someone surrounded by pageantry and wealth, even if (like in the. UK) their role is ceremonial, or someone who may not embody this overt history but actually have more power?
Here is the modern quandary we encounter this weekend when we celebrate Christ as King. Is this imagery still helpful? It counted for much before, but even then it was used to believe that monarchs were chosen directly by God, rather than emphasising how Jesus’ kingship is entirely different to the human concept of monarchy.
Jesus is a leader, a figure of power-the highest power of all-that of God, yet unlike any king or earthly leader he serves, he avoids any of the palaver attached to royalty or indeed any type of earthly leadership.
Whilst the term king conjures up certain images that can be equally helpful and unhelpful, no other modern leadership term is free from positive of negative interpretations whatever field it appears within-sacred or secular.
We see his leadership with power and authority, which so often can corrupt and destroy. Politics can become a game of ambition and ego. However, there are leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu who were fully human, their humanity creating leaders of principle and integrity. Others like John F. Kennedy, Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jnr. were killed for their integrity but their influence continues to inspire.
But Jesus as leader embodies, explodes and transforms whatever concept of leadership that society may create. His leadership is beyond our limited forms as he embodies the human and the divine. He leqds without corruption or selfish ambition . He leads to serve and serves to lead. He redefines the word king, as he redefines what it is to be human and held in the love of God.
Sunday 24th November Christ the King/Sunday next before Advent
10:00am: Holy Communion – St Marys
The Week Ahead
Tuesday 26th Nov
10.30am: Music for Toddlers – St Marys
Thursday 28th Nov
10:00am: Holy Communion – St. Mary’s
Saturday 30th Nov
12.00 – 1:30pm: Saturday Lunches – St Mary’s
Sunday 1st Dec (Advent Sunday)
10:00am: Creative Church – St Mary’s
6:30pm: Evensong – St. Mary’s
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
When a young boy, my family subscribed to a weekly comic which routinely told ‘war stories’. These were daring tales of soldiers and sailors who overcame mountainous odds, defeated enemies, and often won medals. This stirred the hearts of young lads. As the years rolled by, I noticed that the stories became more varied. We heard about spies, or radio operators, or scientists – all of whom eventually contributed to victory in the Second World War.
And, more years further on, we now hear tales of the Women’s Land Army, or the Lumberjills (as the Women’s Timber Corps were affectionately known). There were plenty of others who contributed their part to the war effort, many of whom stayed at home and undertook mundane ordinary tasks which were vital to keep the country alive and flourishing. In this week of Remembrance Sunday, all these people deserve to be remembered. Of course, we must recall those who made the final sacrifice. Yet they were not alone. Many made a “living sacrifice” as Paul names it in Romans 12: “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
In addition, it is right that we remember those who have opposed injustice through their peaceful objection. Think of Rosa Parks who in 1950s Alabama courageously stood firm (or should it be “sat firm”?!), against racial prejudice. And here in the 1960s, there was the determined brave efforts of those involved in the Bristol Bus Boycott. There are many forms of evil in this world, each of which demands a different type of resistance. We may not personally be able to address each one of this world’s troubles; but we can choose what our particular contribution can be, to advance God’s kingdom. When we remember, we honour those who made for us the possibility of a better today. We honour the past partly by choosing well today. As the Kohima Epitaph says:
When you go home Tell them of us and say: For your tomorrow We gave our today
Sunday 10th November – Remembrance Sunday
08.00am – Holy Communion, All Saints
10:00am – Remembrance Sunday Holy Communion followed by civic act of remembrance in Fishponds Park, St Mary’s
10:45am – All Age Remembrance Service with Scouting Groups – All Saints
7.15pm – Generations Youth Group, All Saints
The Week Ahead
Tues 12th Nov
10:30am – Music for Toddlers, St Mary’s Parish Room
Weds 13th Nov
09:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer, All Saints
Thursday 14th Nov
10:00am Holy Communion, St. Mary’s
Friday 15th Nov
11:00am – Living after Loss – Bereavement Group
Saturday 16th Nov
12.00 – 2:00pm – Saturday Lunches, St Mary’s
Sunday 17th Nov
10:00am Sung Holy Communion with Baptism, St Mary’s
To all God’s beloved in Fishponds, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
Since we are on the cusp of Bible Sunday I couldn’t resist opening my message with this beautiful greeting by the apostle Paul. He uses it to begin his letter to the Romans. This Sunday marks the launch of our new Cafe Church year studying Romans, animated by Bible Society’s dynamic presenter, Andrew Ollerton.
The Last Sunday after Trinity is commonly celebrated as Bible Sunday and the Collect gives thanks for the Holy Scriptures and asks that God would help us ‘hear, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them’ So how where do we start so our Bible studies don’t give us indigestion?
Over the years, I have valued tools for Bible Study e.g. consulting commentaries, using a Lectio Divina method of hearing the Bible as if God is engaging in a conversation with me through a phrase or passage. I find the so-called ’Swedish Method’ particularly helps me engage with any passage by using a range of questions (one version of the Swedish Bible Study Method is available here). Four key questions are:
What stands out to me in this passage? What don’t I understand? Does the passage remind me of something going on in my life, or the world at the moment? What will I do as a result of reading this passage?
If I apply these questions to this week’s Gospel reading about the healing of Blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10:46-51 this is the sort of thing that emerges for me… For you, it may look different.
What stands out to me in this passage?
The care of the people around Bartimaeus: ’Take heart, he (Jesus) is calling you!”
The courteous way Jesus addresses the blind man without making assumptions: ‘What do you want me to do for you?’
Bartimaeus chose the better, more life-transforming thing- not more money (he was begging), but the recovery of his sight.
Bart’s faith made all the difference. He trusted Jesus and Jesus healed him.
What don’t I understand?
I wonder why Bartimaeus addressed Jesus as ’Son of David’? I will need to consult a commentary to find this out, or a local Bible expert
Does the passage remind me of anything?
My thoughts turn to those who sit and beg around Fishponds and God’s greatest desire for their flourishing and how that might happen for them and how God might use our churches to be a part of that
What will I do as a result of reading this passage?
I will ponder the question of Jesus (What do you want me to do for you?) and, like Bartimaeus, try to identify and then dare to ask for something I would really like God to do in my life
Services on Sunday 27th October 2024
8.00am Holy Communion – All Saints
10:00am Sung Holy Communion, Trinity – St Marys
10.30am Cafe Church –Book of Romans (Episode 1)- All Saints
Events in the week ahead
Monday 28th October
No meeting for Tiny Tots, Beavers, Cubs or Scouts – Half Term
Wednesday 30th October
Celtic Morning Prayer – 9.00am at All Saints Church
Thursday 31st October
Holy Communion – 10.00am in St. Mary’s Parish Room (enter via back door)
Friday 1st November
Living after Loss – 11.00am in St. Mary;s Parish Room
Saturday 2nd November
Coffee Morning – 10am to 12noon at All Saints Church.
Plus Bristol Repair Team
Services on Sunday 3rd November 2024
10:00am – Creative Church – St Mary’s
10:30am – All Saints Patronal Festival: Holy Communion with Baptism and Junior Church and Band – All Saints
6:30pm – Choral Evensong – St. Mary’s
As you can see, there are three services to choose from to come and worship God together in Fishponds this Sunday. We look forward to seeing new and old faces. And you even get a lie-in, as the clocks go back one hour!
I wonder what points your preacher will draw out and what you will hear this Sunday? While we can read the Bible alone, it is even better when we explore the Bible in community. We can learn from a preacher who has studied the Gospel text and consulted commentaries and read what contemporary theologians are drawing out for today’s world. Or we can meet around a table and hear how a passage is resonating with members of the church family (e.g. at Cafe Church). Hearing from each other helps us care for one another better as we come to know what others are going through.
Additional Collect for Last Sunday after Trinity
Merciful God, teach us to be faithful in change and uncertainty, that trusting in your word and obeying your will we may enter the unfailing joy of Jesus Christ our Lord.
May God bless you with a healing message from the Scriptures this Sunday,
St Mary's, Fishponds 