Church News – September 2020
From the Sanctuary
There is nothing more ‘normal’ and carefree than watching a flock of sparrows hopping around the lawn and in the birdbath, looking for insects and worms, and titillating themselves. It’s as if whatever is going on in our world doesn’t matter – and maybe they hold that wisdom which we can learn from. Apart from keeping a lookout for a Sparrow hawk or cat, their world continues just the same, no matter what is going on in ours.
We, on the other hand, are surrounded by the real threat of a pandemic; by protests and unrest in different countries; by floods in some places, and famines in others; by global warming and plastic pollution. It’s enough to give those who are interested in preaching eschatological theology (i.e. theology to do with the ‘end of the world’, with particular reference to the Book of Revelations), permission to have a field day – and many are having such a field day, scaring the masses with their ‘we are in the last days’ utterances.
Yet, what we are experiencing now, is nothing more than a cyclical pattern of events that impacts our world from time to time. You just need to read history and geology to see that. St. Paul thought that he was serving God at a time when the end of the world was nigh; we have had the dark ages in our past; we have come though several world wars and several pandemics of pestilence (e.g. the Black Death and the Spanish Flu), and plenty of famines and floods which have thinned out the population from time to time. It is simply nature’s way of keeping our human numbers down and preventing the world from becoming too over-populated. Yet, we are still here, and the world is still spinning – and will be for quite some time to come.
Instead of listening to such utter nonsense of the eschatologists and growing scared and anxious, let us instead marvel at how our scientists have used their God-given talents to find a way through our current situation; let us learn to see blessing in our new and innovative ways of adapting – whether they be technological or in building more compassionate communities. For God is surely in this current situation. Let us seek Him, and find Him, and praise Him, and live Him in our encounters with others. To Him be the glory!
I wish you every blessing,
News
Welcome back to the Newsletter! There seemed not much point producing this document when there was little to report but now we are hoping that services will resume in September, its time to start again. Br Peter will lead most of them but our Harvest Service will be led by Sr Dorothy Evans and she asks that at this Harvest time we don’t forget our Food Hamper Project who regularly receive our tinned and packet donations. Envelopes for monetary donations instead will be provided and these will then be passed on to the Food Hamper team.
We have been really grateful to Br Peter for sending us his weekly services via e-mail and these will continue for those who feel unable to return to actual church at the moment.
Sr Dorothy Evans offers her sincere apologies that, due to other issues, she will be unable to take up Bible Study for the immediate future (at least till the middle of October). She is disappointed that we will have to wait for a while before she completes her look at Ephesians and she also has other subject matter organised. I hope I speak for you all when I say that we are prepared to wait.
What’s in your hand?
September is usually the time when we get back to our normal routines after the summer break. With the current coronavirus pandemic, it’s very different this year! However, it is still a good time to consider how God can use us to make a real difference in our workplace, school, family, friends and community. He equips us with everything we need to make His love known.
When God gave Moses the job of bringing the Israelites out of Egypt, He asked the question, ‘What is in your hand?’(Exodus 4:2). Moses was holding his staff, which represented his livelihood (what he was good at); his resources (his flock represented his wealth) and his security (which God was asking him to lay down). God asks the same question of us: What has God given you? Our gifts, temperament, experience, relationships, mind, education can be used in the work God has given us to do.
How will we use them to make a difference in the places where He calls us to serve Him?
John Ortberg, in his book It All Goes Back in the Box, speaks of Johnny, a 19-year-old with Downs syndrome. He worked at a supermarket checkout putting people’s items into bags. To encourage his customers, he decided to put a thought for the day into the bags. Every night his dad would help him to prepare the slips of paper and he would put the thoughts into the bags saying, ‘I hope it helps you have a good day. Thanks for coming here.’ A month later the store manager noticed that Johnny’s line at the checkout was three times longer than anyone else’s! People wanted Johnny’s thought for the day. He wasn’t just filling bags with groceries, he was filling lives with hope!
Calendar for September 2020
| Sunday 6th | Morning Worship with Holy Communion led by Br Peter | 11 am |
| Monday 7th | Church Committee via Zoom | 7 pm |
| Wednesday 9th | Moravian Women’s Association via Zoom | 1.15 pm |
| Sunday 13th & 20th | Morning Worship led by Br Peter | 11 am |
| Sunday 27th | Morning Worship Harvest with a difference led by Sr Dorothy Evans | 11 am |
The Zoom invitation for the Moravian Women’s Association (MWA) meeting will be sent out shortly. Please contact us on this website if you would like to take part in this time of discussions, reading of topical matters and just general natter!
