General Chat

Good morning :-)

There is a church with the same name in our area too Vera. :-D



SHEPHERDS and their role

The priest as shepherd.

The Church of England ordains priests who are called to shepherd and lead people in their worship of God and mission to the world. They do this through a ministry of word and sacrament. Ordained deacons are called to serve and equip the people of God to make Christ known. They assist priests as they share in the task of preaching and offering pastoral care in the church and in the community
The Church of England looks for six qualities in those who are called to ordained ministry. These qualities are:

• Love for God
• Call to ministry
• Love for people
• Wisdom
• Fruitfulness
• Potential

Acts 20:28
Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.

Cx :-)

I am enjoying this week's posts about shepherds. It has brought back memories of the church I attended as a child and young person. I was also married there and our first child was baptised there. It was the Church of the Good Shepherd. It's silly but just the name always seemed welcoming. It evokes a feeling of calm and being cared for and protected.

Sending a hug to anyone who feels in need of a little comfort tonight <3

Good morning :-)

SHEPHERDS and their role

In some respects, loving parents are like shepherds, as they have the responsibility of raising and caring for their children. They do their best to ensure that their ‘lambs’ are fed, safe and keep to the right path. Parents set an example to their children teaching right from wrong, good manners and respect. Love is unconditional – as our heavenly father loves us.

Jeremiah 3:15 15Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


SHEPHERDS.........and their role

Many people can remember that one special teacher from their past. The teacher who encouraged and inspired them. The teacher who obviously cared by how they treated their pupil and guided them along the way. The teacher who made a difference to the lives of others.

Most pupils may not have appreciated how much the teacher cared, protected and guided them, but the teacher doesn’t mind. They are just happy to be teachers and all they want is to be good teachers.

Teachers are called to be shepherds of souls. Especially in a church school, they bring Jesus and the Gospel alive for their pupils. For some, they may be the only Gospel that their students will ever read.

Psalms 78:72
And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skilful hands he led them.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Yesterday, the service was very much based on shepherds and Jesus being the Good Shepherd – quite interesting people these shepherds and they don’t just look after sheep either!

Apart from the obvious, who is a shepherd?
A clergy person is a shepherd to the people in their church.
Parents are shepherds to their children.
A teacher is a shepherd to the students in their class.
An employer is a shepherd his employees.


What are the responsibilities of a shepherd?

A good shepherd gives the sheep a sense of belonging.
The shepherd should see that the needs of the sheep are met.
The shepherd should feed his sheep


During Old Testament times, a shepherd was often a child. It was their job to protect and guide the sheep to good pastures because this kept the sheep healthy. Families in the Middle East relied upon sheep to provide food, wool, and sheepskin. Because sheep were so valuable, shepherds would stay with the flock to protect them day and night.

Psalm 100:3
Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


The collect (special prayer) for today:

Risen Christ,
faithful shepherd of your Father’s sheep:
teach us to hear your voice and to follow your command,
that all your people may be gathered into one flock,
to the glory of God the Father.
Amen.

The Gospel reading – John 10 22-30 Jesus talks about being the Good Shepherd.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

This and That

The month of May, especially with our Roman Catholic friends, is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

The tradition of dedicating the month of May to Mary, came about in the 13th century. Some say because it was created to replace various pagan cults. The actual reason is the fact that this month is the time when spring is at the height of its beauty.

Spring is also connected with nature renewing itself. In her way, Mary gave new life to the world when she gave birth to our saviour Jesus Christ. Long standing tradition has it that, during May, parishes and families are encouraged to develop their faith and work on pastoral outreach.

Hail Mary full of Grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed are thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus.
Holy Mary Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death
Amen.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

This and That……..

The wind at North and East
Was never good for man nor beast
So never think to cast a clout
Until the month of May be out.

Most people have heard the old saying 'Ne'er cast a clout till May be out'. It's been in use since at least the 18th century. A clout is an old word for a piece of clothing. In other words, the old saying could mean don't take your warm clothes off until the month of May has ended.

However, some people take it to mean the Mayflower or hawthorn which flowers in late April or early May. So don’t discard clothing until the hawthorn blooms.
Whatever the actual reason, the basic meaning of this is fairly obvious – i.e. we are still likely to experience bad weather, so take care!


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)



This and That…….

We have just celebrated May Day – 1st May but this has nothing to do with the Mayday distress call.

The "mayday" procedure word was conceived as a distress call in the early 1920s by Frederick Stanley Mockford, officer-in-charge of radio at Croydon Airport, England. He had been asked to think of a word that would indicate distress and would easily be understood by all pilots and ground staff in an emergency.

Since much of the air traffic at the time was between Croydon and Le Bourget Airport in Paris, he proposed the term "mayday", the phonetic equivalent of the French m'aidez ("help me") or m'aider (a short form of venez m'aider, "come [and] help me".


'Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand… For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, 'Fear not, I will help you. '


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


This and That……..The Bible and those bloopers!

THE WICKED BIBLE: of 1631 reported the Seventh Commandment as "Thou shalt commit adultery," a mistake that infuriated King Charles. He ordered all copies destroyed and fined all printers whose hands had touched the edition.

MURDER'S BIBLE: This 19th-century faux pas had Mark 7:27 as "Let the children be killed" instead of "filled."

PLACEMAKER BIBLE: a 16th Century printer had Jesus blessing the "place-makers" instead of "peacemakers."

VINEGAR BIBLE: The Vinegar Bible gets its name from the most famous of the errors in the 1717 printing. The headline of Luke 20 reads, “the parable of the vinegar” (instead of vineyard).

Thank you Father for making yourself known to us, showing us the way of salvation through faith in your Son. We ask you now to teach us through your word, so that we may be ready to serve you, for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Cx :-)

Hello all

Interesting as always Cynthia. Thank you.

Hard to believe that we are in the month of May!

May this new month of the year bring you joy and
happy times ahead.

Sending hugs out to all who need them.

Good morning :-)

A week of This and That

Did you know?

THE BIBLE
• …..was written by around forty different people from different backgrounds.
• …..was written during a period of 1,600 years. That’s about forty generations.
• …..was the first book ever printed in 1456.
• ….. is the most sold and most translated book in the world and the most shoplifted.

Since 1456 there have been many translations of the Bible, not only into different languages, but in content. Note the following misprints in these old translations – more to follow tomorrow!


CAMELS BIBLE: In 1832 an edition had Rebekah leaving her tent to meet Isaac with a group of - not damsels - but camels.

WIFE-HATER BIBLE: An 1810 version read, "If any man come to me, and hate not . . . his own wife (instead of “life"), he cannot be my disciple."

"SIN ON" BIBLE: The first English-language Bible to be printed in Ireland, in 1716, encouraged its readers to "sin on more" rather than "sin no more." A similar error in 1653 had declared: "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall inherit the kingdom of God?"


“Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

The first Monday in May became a public holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 1978. In Scotland, it had already been one of the original bank holidays since 1871.

Britain has a long heritage of May Day celebrations dating back to pagan times that still have echoes in such customs as the Maypole Dancing and Morris Dancing. Down through the centuries May Day has been associated with fun, revelry and perhaps most important of all, fertility.

In rural Britain, celebrations were associated with the fertility of spring and the start of summer. The seeds of the new crops had been planted, farm labourers were given a day off - and they made the most of it!

However, this holiday was brought in as a way of marking the International Labour day by the socialist government of the time.

Have a relaxing day everyone.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


The Collect (special prayer) for today

Almighty Father,
who in your great mercy gladdened the disciples
with the sight of the risen Lord:
give us such knowledge of his presence with us,
that we may be strengthened and sustained by his risen life
and serve you continually in righteousness and truth;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen


The Gospel reading tells the lovely story of Jesus and his disciples having breakfast on the beach. John 21 1-19

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Lord, give me a sense of humour,
a spirit that is light.
So when I feel the darkest,
my heart will sparkle bright.

Let me learn to giggle,
when something tickles me.
Like my baby grandson,
when I bounce him on my knee.

Let me learn to chuckle,
like I did when I was a little girl.
Even when life's tangles,
are pulled through my thinning curls.

Let me learn to laugh aloud,
even if only to myself.
Like when a child is playing,
with no one but them self.

Let me learn to smile,
when I prefer to wear a frown.
Like a toddler thick in mischief,
and they think no one is around.



Psalm 126:2

Then our mouth was filled with laughter
And our tongue with joyful shouting;
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

There's always room for laughter in church and children can cause a lot of amusement at times. Children aren't just the church of the future, they are part of the church now.

An associate minister visited our Sunday school class one morning, and asked, "What would you like me to talk about?" One child spoke up boldly and said, "About 3 minutes!"


Sunday school teacher asked Little Johnny, "Do you believe in the Devil?" "No," said Little Johnny. "It's the same as Santa Claus. I know it's my daddy."



“Dad, I want to ask you a question,” said little Josh after his first day of Sunday School.
“Of course,” said his Dad.
“The teacher was reading the Bible, about the Children of Israel building the Temple, the Children of Israel crossing the Red Sea, the Children of Israel aking the sacrifices,” said Josh.
“So what’s your question?” his Dad asked.
“Well, didn’t the grown-ups do anything?!”

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

There's always room for laughter in church...


A vicar explained to his congregation that the church was in need of some extra money, so he asked them to consider being more than generous, offering whoever gave the most money the chance to pick three hymns.

After the offering plates were passed about the church, the vicar glanced down and noticed that someone had graciously offered up a total of £1,000. He was so excited that he immediately shared his joy with his congregation and said he’d like to personally thank the person who placed the money in the plate.

A very quiet, elderly, saintly lady in the back of the church shyly raised her hand. The pastor asked her to come to the front, so she slowly she made her way towards him.
The vicar told her how wonderful it was that she gave so much, and in thanks he asked her to pick out three hymns.

Her eyes brightened as she looked over the congregation. She pointed to the three most handsome men in the church and said: “I’ll take him and him and him.”


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Humour in church............

Money plays an important part in the life of a church if we wish to keep the doors open and the mission ongoing.


A minister was preoccupied with thoughts of how he was going to ask the congregation to come up with more money than they were expecting for repairs to the church building.

So, he talked to the organist to see what kind of inspirational music she could play after the announcement about the finances to get the congregation in a giving mood.

"Don't worry," she said. "I'll think of something."

During the service, the minister paused and said, "Brothers and Sisters, we are in great difficulty; the roof repairs cost twice as much as we expected, and we need to raise another £5,000. Any of you who can pledge £100 or more, please stand up."

Just at that moment, the organist started playing The National Anthem.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)



And then, there’s the weddings……………………

The bride and her father arrived at the church door. The bride was, understandably, nervous and confessed to her Maid of Honour that she was worried she’d completely forget what to do.

“You’ve just got to remember three things,” said her friend. “First, walk nice and straight down the aisle. Second, stop and stand when you get to the altar. And third, sing along with the hymn: it’ll relax you.”

So as the bride arrived at the wedding, she was heard muttering to herself over and over again: “AISLE ALTAR HYMN”, “AISLE ALTAR HYMN”…’

:-D :-D :-D :-D :-D


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

We have left the solemnity of Lent behind us and have celebrated Easter, so maybe time for a little laughter.

Take for instance…….baptisms – you never know what little ears pick up.

After a rainstorm filled all the potholes in the streets and alleys, a young mother watched her two little boys playing in the puddle through her kitchen window. The older of the two, a five year old lad, grabbed his sibling by the back of his head and shoved his face into the water hole. As the boy recovered and stood laughing and dripping, the mother runs to the yard in a panic.

"Why on earth did you do that to your little brother?!" she shouts in pure fright..

"We were just playing 'church' mummy," he said. "I was baptising him in the name of the Father, the Son and in the hole-he-goes."


Cx :-)