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‘Dear friends, now we are Children of God.’

02/02/14 MALMESBURY ABBEY

HOSPITALITY THAT INVITES PEOPLE CLOSER STABILITY THAT DRAWS PEOPLE DEEPER CREATIVITY THAT LIFTS PEOPLE HIGHER

Vicar’s blog: Bubbles I divided them into two groups. We were on the ground floor of our Junior Church building, and I was leading Bubbles. It had come to this. Splash were making quite a bit of noise upstairs, perhaps some discipline issues there, but we soon settled down nicely in Bubbles. Everyone drew around their hands, then coloured them in, some using glitter pens but others settling for a dependable felt tip. When they had finished, I asked them to write their name in the corner – it’s nice not to lose your work when you run back into the Abbey. We sang ‘Jesus is the Son of God’ to the tune of ‘London Bridge is falling down’ and we then did a really, really big shout – it’s the Bubbles song after all; yay! I checked that nobody needed the toilet, and then we talked about the Antichrist.

Last Sunday at 4pm we had a sort of back to front Sunday. At the break in our service instead of the Junior Church & Trax going out into groups and

the adults staying in, the adults grabbed their coffee and went out into groups, in the drizzle, and Junior Church & Trax stayed in the warmth of the Abbey to worship and have fun and learn and pray and party together. We even had a smoke machine in the Abbey; I thought the Reformation had got rid of those. So why did I have 16 adults in Bubbles, sitting studying 1 John 2 together?

It was a chance for us ‘grown-ups’ to see a little of what it is like being a child in our church community. It was also a chance for us to say to our young people that you really, really matter, you are church; and we are committed to making Junior Church the best bit of your week.

The festival of noise and wheels that is about to hit the abbey also functions on that level. Across the Church of England 48% of Anglican churches have fewer than 5 young people attending. It is crucial that the abbey says again and again to the children and young people of our community that this Abbey is yours, your culture is welcome, and the faith that you’ll find at the heart of it will shape your life and transform your future. neillarcher.blogspot.co.uk

Abbey Diary THIS SUNDAY: FEBRUARY 2nd 8am BCP Communion 10.30am Holy Communion 4pm Informal Worship, Junior Church & Trax EACH DAY WED 5th

THUR 6th

FRI 7th SAT 8th

9am Morning Prayer 10.30am Holy Communion 7pm Pipeline 7.30pm Healing Training 10.30am Time for Chat 4pm Evening Prayer 7pm Choir Practice 10.30am Creative Response 10am Healing in the Streets

NEXT SUNDAY: FEBRUARY 9th 8am BCP Communion 10.30am Holy Communion 4pm Informal Worship, Junior Church & Trax ADVANCE ABBEY DIARY Feb 11th Glory!

Feb 19th- Malmesbury Abbey Skate Feb 21st 2014 April 15th Glory!

April 17th Riding Lights ‘Inheritance’ April 20th Bishop Lee preaching June 3rd Glory!

June 20th- Church Weekend Away June 22nd (Paul Langham & Bishop Lee) July 2nd Music for Autism July 15th WOMAD at the Abbey Aug 3rd New Wine Sep 13th Archbishop in Malmesbury

1 John 2:28-3:10 28

And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.

1

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.

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6

No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. 7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray.

The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

9

No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

Additional Reading: John 1:10-14 10

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognise him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

small group resource + 1.

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Share in the room one insight or experience of Sunday’s teaching and worship. What was God saying to you?

Read the eight phrases in italics as one continuous paragraph. What is St John saying about the Christian life? And how might we live in him? (verse 6) Read verses 1-3. Father is not a neutral word for all of us. How does your image of fatherhood and parenting inform your image of God our Father?

Link 1 John 3:2, John 1:12,13 and John 3:3.

Is there any visible sign that we are ‘children of God’ or is it simply a theological point?

Pray together that you might each experience the Father’s love more deeply.

daily readings MONDAY Psalm 1 Phil 1:1-11

TUESDAY Psalm 5 Phil 1:12-end

WEDNESDAY THURSDAY Psalm 119:1-32 Psalm 15 Phil 2 Phil 3

FRIDAY Psalm 19 Phil 4

Abbey Youth Ministry After serving very, very faithfully in our youth department for the last seven years, and at the same time obtaining a BA in Youth & Community Work, Sarah McGrory has decided that it is time to take a break, replenish over the summer and consider prayerfully a new direction in ministry; she will be stepping down at the end of February. The Abbey is immensely grateful to Sarah and we will be thanking her more fully at the end of the month. From March, in this time of transition, Neill & Pete Campbell will be overseeing our Youth Department, building on all Sarah has done and recruiting new faces to strengthen the team for an exciting season ahead.

PCC Update The first PCC meeting of 2014 was held on Saturday 18th January. Matters discussed included: the significance of 3,500- 4000 people attending services over Advent/Christmas; Music for Autism returning in the Summer, BBC Wiltshire at Easter and BBC History in October. The work on the Abbey's pathway has now been completed and the conversion of the top floor of Le Flambé to a flat for a Children’s Minister continues. Work to create a clear Abbey Identity was commissioned from Michael Salmon Design Ltd and Abbey Bullying and Harassment Policy was completed. The focus after coffee was the Abbey's External Mission Giving for 2014: which includes Janet Parke (Zambia) £,3,300; Phil Williams (Christian Surfers) £500; Open Doors (Persecuted church) £500 and a £2,500 fund, open to all, for specific mission trips. You can read the full minutes in the parish office.

Open Doors As part of our commitment to the persecuted church, the Abbey PCC is supporting Open Doors (see above) and Mike Langtree will be acting as an advocate within our congregations. Today you will receive from Open Doors information about the global church and in Lent we will all receive a booklet identifying with the church in North Korea.

Noticeboard Church Weekend Away A reminder that our Church Weekend Away should be in your diaries from Friday June 20th –Sunday 22nd June. This is for the entire church, not just those wishing to camp, it will be free of charge although there will be a final offering to defray some costs. More details to follow.

Glory!

God is good. Two remarkable things happened in our prayer life together in 2013. First, throughout the year, each day at 9am, normally 4-9 people gathered for 25 minutes to read scripture, pray liturgy , sing together and intercede. Please join us, even for one morning, in 2014. Second, about 50 of us came to passionately praise God and be led by the Spirit in prayer at our Glory! Prayer meetings. John, Mandy & Neill are leading the next one on February 11th from 7.30pm-9pm. Again, join us. The church is praying.

February 2 Love & Identity February 9 Love & Action February 16 Love Sacrifices February 23 Love Overcomes March 2 Love & Truth

1 John 2:28-3:10 1 John 3:11-24 1 John 4 1 John 5 2 John & 3 John

Contact ABBEY OFFICE Mon &Tues (9.30am-12noon) Weds, Thurs ,Fri, (9.30am-2.30pm) 01666 826666 www.malmesburyabbey.com sandie@malmesburyabbey.com Staff members can be contacted by name@malmesburyabbey.com NORMAL CAFÉ HOURS Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday: 9am-3pm Wednesday: 12-3pm Sunday: Closed all day clare@malmesburyabbey.com

The Parenting Children Course Next month, the Abbey will be running a free 5-week course for any parents or carers of children aged 0-10 years. This is a fantastic opportunity to invite those inside and outside the church to share the ups and downs of parenting and pick up ideas along the way. It will be on Tuesday evenings in the Abbey, 7.30pm9.45pm, starting 25th Feb and finishing 25th March. Make sure to grab some flyers on the way out to give to your friends. To book a place, or find out more information, contact our curate, Rev John Monaghan, 01666 829101 orjohn@malmesburyabbey.com

12th CENTURY BEAUTY 21st CENTURY CHURCH