‘I have no greater joy than to know my children are walking in the truth.’
02/03/14 MALMESBURY ABBEY
HOSPITALITY THAT INVITES PEOPLE CLOSER STABILITY THAT DRAWS PEOPLE DEEPER CREATIVITY THAT LIFTS PEOPLE HIGHER
Vicar’s blog: reorientation And now for 40 days of setting yourself impossible goals and beating yourself up (I’m going to read the Bible in it’s entirety before breakfast each day and spend most of my waking hours on Weston-Super-Mare beach, just as Christ was in the desert.) Or, and now for setting yourself ridiculously easy goals and not really engaging with Lent (I’m going to give up asparagus and Christmas pudding, Lent’s a bit of medieval hokum anyway and it seems to last longer than 40 days.) Or maybe, there is a window for spiritual reflection, a holy audit , which might actually be a pretty helpful to yourself, and those around you. Lent is of the Holy Spirit, or it’s of no particular value, and potentially a bit of distracting religious weirdness. In Luke 4:1 it records that Jesus was ‘full of the Holy Spirit’ and ‘led by the Spirit’ as he began the 40 days in the desert we are identifying with. In Luke 4:14, 40 days later, Jesus returned from the desert ‘in the power of the Spirit’. So we build our desert with God, not with guilt. Jesus’ life was revealed in Luke 4 to be a life totally orientated to God; our 40 days will normally reveal the need for reorientation, realignment. We will see ourselves better, and God better. Some possibilities to consider from this Wednesday, or not:
Feast. Read John in Lent. You’ll find the readings set out on the back of the Morning Prayer leaflet handed out today. Use the liturgy as well if you wish, or join us each day in St Aldhelm's chapel at 9am (or maybe one day a week to help keep you focused.) Fast. How would your life look if you consumed differently for 40 days, fasting from a food, facebook, TV show e.g. Live. Like a North Korean. Use the Open Doors material, available today, to pray for the church in North Korea and to allow the life of a North Korean Christian to comment on your own.
Abbey Diary THIS SUNDAY: MARCH 2nd 8am BCP Communion 10.30am Holy Communion 4pm Informal Worship, Junior Church & the Grid 6pm The Mix//Campbells EACH DAY MON 3rd
TUES 4th ASH WED THUR 6th
Practice Intentional Solitude & Community. Don’t let church and prayer happen in the cracks of a busy life. For 40 days see how it feels to allow Christian community and personal stillness before God to shape everything else. That other thing. As the 40 days progress allow the Spirit to lead you to put something down or pick something up. Allow ‘your will be done’ to feel a fresh and exciting sentence to begin the day. Services at 10.30am and 7pm on Ash Wednesday kick off our 40 days together, our reorientation to God. Our Easter Day worship ends it as we celebrate the resurrection of Christ together.
neillarcher.blogspot.co.uk
FRI 7th SAT 8th
9am Morning Prayer 9.30am Soft Play 8pm Small Group Pastors in the Parish Office 7.30pm Parenting Course 10.30am & 7pm Holy Communion with Ashing 10.30am Time for Chat 4pm Evening Prayer 7pm Choir Practice 10.30am Creative response 10am Healing in the Streets 10.30am Listening to people with Dementia Course
NEXT SUNDAY: MARCH 9th 8am BCP Communion 10.30am Holy Communion 4pm Informal Worship, Junior Church & the Grid 6pm The Mix//McAdams 6.30pm Choral Evensong ADVANCE ABBEY DIARY April 12th John Flowers & the Wild April 14th Phantom of the Opera April 15th Glory! April 16th God & Dinosaurs 2 April 17th Riding Lights ‘Inheritance’ April 18th Faure Requiem
2 John & 3 John 1
The elder, to the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth – and not I only, but also all who know the truth – 2 because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us for ever: 3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love. 4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. 7 I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. 9 Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. 11 Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work. 12 I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete. 13 The children of your sister, who is chosen by God, send their greetings. 1
The elder, to my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth. 2 Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, just as you are progressing spiritually. 3 It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 5 Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. 6 They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honours God. 7 It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans.8 We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth. 9 I wrote to the church,
but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. 10 So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church. 11 Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone – and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true. 13 I have much to write to you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.
Additional Reading: John 14:1-6
small group resource + 1. 2.
Read through 2 and 3 John. Take note of each time the word 'truth' is used. What is the 'truth' that John is referring to? Why is the truth in jeopardy? (Think of when John is writing the letter and how long has passed since Jesus ascended). 3. 'It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth…' According to John, and from what you can remember from 1 John, how can we know that we are walking in the truth? 4. John calls anyone who does not acknowledge that Jesus came in the flesh (as well as fully divine; 2 Jn 7), 'the antichrist'. Explore what this word 'antichrist' means (or 'anti-messiah' in the Hebrew)? The implications of what he is saying suggest that anyone today who denies the truth about Jesus is also an 'antichrist'. How does that make us feel? 5. Fundamental to Christianity is the claim that absolute truth exists, that absolute morality exists, that Jesus is the only way to eternal life; the potential corollary being that all others who deny the central creeds of Christianity are either wrong, ignorant, deceived or rebelling… Do you agree? What is it about our post-modern / pluralistic culture which seems to make it harder and harder for Christians to speak up about the 'truth' of the gospel and the claims Jesus made?
daily readings MONDAY Psalm 80 Galatians 1
TUESDAY Ps 89:1-18 Gal 2:1-10
ASH WED Psalm 51 John 8:1-11
THURSDAY Psalm 77 John 1:1-18
FRIDAY Psalm 3 John 1:19-34
Youth Department from March 2nd Neill & Pete took some time out from skateboarding and hula-hooping last week to do some planning and to build on the excellent work Sarah McGrory has been doing in our Youth Department. There are a few changes which take effect from today: The Grid (school years 7-9), with a slightly larger age range than Trax, will be meeting at our 4pm service, going out to the Parish Office at the coffee break, and using Scripture Union material each week with an expanded team of helpers. Everyone in years 7-9 is really welcome, and this will normally take place on the first 3 Sundays of the month with The Grid joining our All-age Communion on the 4th Sunday. The Mix (school years 9-13) is new and will take place after our 4pm service. Hosted either at the Campbells’ house or the McAdams’, from 6pm-8pm on a Sunday, there will be food, some sort of entertainment and discussion (often based on the teaching from that afternoon’s 4pm service.) Initially this will take place on the first three Sundays of the month, and there will probably be a crowd walking from the Abbey to this after the 4pm. So nothing mid-week like Pipeline just now, and plans for camping together on a great church weekend away on the farm and other events like kayaking, Wii nights etc. Please contact Neill or Pete with any questions.
Linda Sullivan As part of her continuing training towards ordination, Linda Sullivan will be undertaking a six week placement at a church different to her own. To this end, Linda will be worshipping at Cirencester Parish Church from Ash Wednesday until and including Easter Sunday and will not be seen much in the Abbey. Please pray for her in this placement and as other training continues to prepare her for ordination as an Ordained Local Minister (OLM), which is expected to take place on Saturday 28th June at 10.30 am in Bristol Cathedral.
Noticeboard Christian Aid The Christian Aid Soup Lunch held at the URC on Friday 21st February was a wonderful success. £257 was raised. Thank you to all involved in any way.
Abbey Guild This month Lance Osborne will be introducing Musical Surprises and it’s also our AGM. So do join us on Thursday 13th March at 2.30pm in King’s Church, Abbey Row. All very welcome.
Giving All the ministries of Malmesbury Abbey, and our Mission Giving, are sustained by the regular generous giving of our congregations. If you would like to enquire confidentially about setting up a standing order/giftaid please e-mail chrisjager@malmesburyabbey.com or phone 01666 823778. Thank you.
March 9 March 16 March 23 March 30 April 6 April 13 April 20 April 27
John the Baptist Nicodemus the Woman at the Well Mary, Mother of Jesus Lazarus the Crowd Mary Thomas
John 1:19-34 John 3:1-17 John 4:1-26 John 19:25-27 John 11:17-45 John 12:12-16 John 20:1-18 John 20:19-31
Real Lives
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
Friday e-Mailing If you would like to receive an e-mail every Friday from the Parish Office, with a link to this News Sheet online and other additional notices and links, please contact Sandie Brown at office@malmesburyabbey.com.
Prayer Ministry at your home Stuck at home? Can’t get to church? But you would like prayer, perhaps for healing or for some other problem? If that is you, the Abbey Prayer Ministry Team would like to help. Two or three of us would be glad to come to your home any weekday in the morning or afternoon to pray for you. It can be quite brief and is totally confidential. Please contact Revd Peter Yacomeni on 826628.
12th CENTURY BEAUTY 21st CENTURY CHURCH