“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:

08:00	All Saints	Holy Communion (said)
10:00	St Mary’s	Holy Communion
10:30	All Saints	Café Church

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:

Wednesday 28th May	09:00	All Saints	Celtic Morning Prayer
Thursday 29th May	10:00	St Mary’s	Holy Communion
Sunday 1st June	10:00	St Mary’s	Creative Church
	10:30	All Saints	Holy Communion
	18:30	St Mary’s	Evensong

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

“Then what?”

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 18^th 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 19^th May

10.30am – Tiny Tots – All Saints 

Tuesday 20^th May

10:30am – M4T – St Mary’s

Weds 21^st May

9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer – All Saints 

Thurs 22^nd May

10:00am –  Holy Communion – St. Mary’s                           

Saturday 24^th May

10:00 – 11:30am – Coffee Morning for Christian Aid – St Mary’s

12.00 – 2:00pm – Saturday Lunches  – St Mary’s 

Sunday 25^th May

8:00am – Holy Communion – All Saints 

10:00am – Holy Communion– St Mary’s 

10.30am – Café Church – All Saints 

Revd Bob.

Christ the King

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

Blessings

Fr Kester de Oliveira

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,

Revd Diane (curate)