2ND NOVEMBER 2014
ALL SAINTS Vicar’s Blog
As we studied the Book of Revelation earlier this year, I think it dawned on us all that to be a member of the early church was to know someone who had been martyred and to face persecution and the possibility of martyrdom yourself. Jesus said to the church in Smyrna ’do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer;’ (Rev 2:10) that can’t have been an easy word to hear. In Revelation 6:9 it is ‘the souls of those who have been slain because of the word of God’ that cry out for justice. As we prayed with the persecuted church in North Korea during Lent it became crystal clear that the martyrdom of the church is not simply ancient history. And now we witness a similar evil perpetrated by ISIL against those who would bring aid to others. So it is fitting to put our pumpkins aside for a moment and remember where Halloween,
the Eve of all Hallows, sprung up from in the first place. Places like Rome and Antioch in Syria had so many martyrs in their early history that they couldn’t possibly remember one person in prayer on each day of the year. So by the early fifth century in the Syrian Church the Friday after Easter was kept as the feast of All Martyrs; a time of year associated with the injustice of Christ’s own death and the power of His resurrection. By 835AD, different traditions and dates of remembering All Martyrs had simplified to one single festival, All Saints, on November 1st, otherwise known as All Hallows. Those who hallow God are those who worship him, as in ‘hallowed by thy name.‘ And the Eve of All Hallows, Hallowe’en, is the time of worship the night before, just as Christmas Eve precedes Christmas.
A B B E Y D I A RY THIS SUNDAY: November 2nd 8am 10.30am 4pm 6.30pm So we are in a short season in the life of the church where a holy death is remembered with hope and with prayer. This coming Sunday we will remember the persecuted church in our prayers and then at 6.30pm in a still and tranquil Abbey we will light candles and give thanks for the lives of all those known to us who have died in the last year or so. If you wish the name of a loved one to be read out please join us and let me know before the service begins. And then next Sunday we join with the British Legion and serving military from our communities for Remembrance Sunday. ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. They will rest from their labour for their deeds will follow them.’ (Rev 14:13)
BCP Holy Communion Holy Communion Informal Worship, Junior Church & The Grid Thanksgiving for the Faithful Departed
THIS WEEK EACH DAY TUES 4th WED 5th THURS 6th SAT 8th
9am Morning Prayer 9.30am Women Alive! 10.30am Communion 10.30am Time for Chat 7.30pm Poppy Concert 10am The Meeting Place
NEXT SUNDAY: November 9th 8am 10.30am 2.30pm 4pm
BCP Holy Communion Holy Communion with Act of Remembrance British Legion Service of Remembrance Informal Worship with Act of Remembrance
ADVANCE Nov 18th Glory! Nov 25th Refresh! Nov 30th Advent Carol Service Dec 21st Nine Lessons & Carols Dec 20th The Malmesbury Nativity 23rd & 24th
MAT T H E W 2 4 : 1 - 1 4 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2 ‘Do you see all these things?’ he asked. ‘Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.’ 3
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. ‘Tell us,’ they said, ‘when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’ 4
Jesus answered: ‘Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, “I am the Messiah,” and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth-pains.
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‘Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Additional Reading: Micah 5:3-12
DISCIPLESHIP 1. Share together what stood out from our worship and teaching last Sunday.
D A I LY R E A D I N G S
2. Which 2 verses in Matthew 24:14 refer to the destruction of Herod’s temple in AD 70?
Monday Psalm 92 Isaiah 1:1-20 Matthew 1:18-end
3. In another prophesy which temple does Jesus declare will be rebuilt in three days? (Find the biblical reference and read it.)
Tuesday Psalm 100 Isaiah 1:21-end Matthew 2:1-15
4. Can you link Malachi 3:1, 1 Peter 2:4-10 and our passage?
Wednesday Psalm 112 Isaiah 2:1-11 Matthew 2:16-end
5. In verses 4-12 is Jesus arguing ‘get excited the end of things is coming soon’ or ‘don’t get excited the end of things isn’t coming yet’? Use three or four verse to justify your answer? 6. How can you link this passage with current history, present experience and our future hope? 7. Let Revelation 1:7&8 inspire you in prayer together.
Thursday Psalm 118 Isaiah 3:1-15 Matthew 3 Friday Psalm 143 Isaiah 1:1-20 Matthew 4:1-11
GIVING To regularly support the mission and worship of the Abbey with your Christian giving please contact Alan McAdam at alan@malmesburyabbey.com
FA C E B O O K / T W I T T E R
APPOINTMENT
Tom Hunton is now running Facebook and Twitter for the Abbey, #finally. He’ll be posting a few times a week to keep people connected to Abbey life, events and news. Please follow us and if you have something that you’d like posted please message him or e-mail him at tomhunton@hotmail.co.uk. You can also get a weekly e-mail from sandie@malmesburyabbey.com with extra notices and a link to this newssheet online.
After an excellent 24 hours of meetings and interviews, we are delighted to announce that we have a new Children’s & Youth minister joining us on the staff, probably in January 2015. During the interviews an outstanding candidate emerged who we believe will be at the heart of our growth as a church in the next few years. At this stage we can’t tell you who he is, but as soon as we can, we will.
M O R N I N G P R AY E R
VICAR’S E-MAIL
You can now find the Morning Prayer liturgy that we use each day in St Aldhelm’s Chapel at issuu.com/ malmesburyabbey. The daily Bible readings for the month are on the back page. Let us know if this is useful and do join us in the chapel at 9am if you can occasionally.
Just to let you know that you can still contact the vicar by pigeon as usual, or by e-mailing him with either neill@malmesburyabbey.com or now neillarcher@btinternet.com. Please delete any other e-mail addresses.
NOTICEBOARD I S A I A H & M AT T H E W The daily readings, that we use at 9am Morning Prayer each day and print in this News Sheet, start a new cycle next week which allows you to read most of Isaiah & Matthew between now and Christmas. If your daily Bible study needs an injection of discipline why not begin afresh this Monday. There are also extensive Bible reading notes on sale at the back of the Abbey.
CHRISTMAS VOUCHER SCHEME You can be part of a great example of the church in action in our community! Each year Churches Together in Malmesbury (CTiM) gives a Christmas gift to low income families in the area, so they can enjoy celebrating this special time of year too and know that the local Christian community cares for them. Our generosity means they will be given vouchers that can be exchanged for food at the local Co-op stores. Last year we were able to help over 70 local families – a record! This week special envelopes are available at each service. If you would like to contribute, please place your donation inside one of the envelopes provided, and if you pay tax then please write your name etc on the envelope so that gift aid can be added to the total. Your envelope can be placed in the collection in any of the services during November. If you know of someone who would like to contribute but isn’t here today, extra envelopes are available at the back of the Abbey. Thank you for helping to make sure this event continues to be a local success.
CONTAC T ABBEY OFFICE Monday (10am-12pm) Tuesday-Friday (9.30am– 3pm) Tel: 01666 826666 sandie@malmesburyabbey.com
CAFÉ HOURS Tuesday-Saturday (normal) 9am– 4.30pm Sunday & Monday closed all day clare@malmesburyabbey.com
www.malmesburyabbey.com issuu.com/malmesburyabbey Staff members can be contacted by name@malmesburyabbey.com
12th CENTURY BEAUT Y 21st CENTURY CHURCH