Are you serious?!
Dear friends,
Winston Churchill once said "A joke is a very serious thing." I often wonder whether we try and apply the same to our churches! There is a perception still among many people that churches are not places to bring small children as they will be too noisy and disruptive. Yet those of us who are there on a Sunday morning would love to see children in our churches - it is a challenging balance! I often used to ask whether God has a sense of humour. Jackie Gleason once asked that same question and said "He must have if He created us!"
One of our challenges is that our faith does have a serious element. In a conversation I was having recently with someone, what could be bigger than talking about our origin and our destination? What could be more important than talk of eternity? There is a weight to it and that can often make us feel we have to be very serious when we're engaging with it. But then we can come across songs which we could sing in church like "I am a lighthouse" which must bring a smile to our faces when we sing them.
The danger is if we are too serious then we lose the fun which our faith can bring - after all in John 10:10 Jesus does say that he came that we might have life in all its fulness, which includes having fun and a sense of humour! When it comes to our faith, we need to find the balance between taking it seriously and enjoying ourselves and our faith. I am hugely privileged to be able to conduct weddings and baptisms and these are a great example of this - there are serious, sacred moments in those services but the services should be fun as well. My prayer is that we can all remind ourselves of the fun which our faith brings to our lives and make sure we don't take ourselves too seriously.
May Services
Sunday 21st May
9:15am - Holy Communion (with Sunday Club) @ St. John the Evangelist, Littlewick Green
11am - Holy Communion (BCP) @ St. James-the-Less, Stubbings
Sunday 28th May
9am - Come to the Table @ St. James-the-Less, Stubbings (our new informal communion service)
10:30am - Holy Communion @ St. Mary the Virgin, Hurley
Walking Group
The walking group met this week at Littlewick Green and had a wonderful walk around with 8 people sharing fellowship and enjoying refreshment with each other. Keep an eye out for the date for the June walk!
Can you help out?
We are always looking to get everyone involved (not in a way we put you all on rotas but a way in which we help you do what you would like to!) and we'd love to involve more people. Particularly at the moment we are looking for people to help with Pebbles at Hurley which runs 10-11:30am on a Friday morning - you are welcome to come along and see what it is all about before joining up!
Thy Kingdom Come
While we aren't doing anything in particular for Thy Kingdom Come (which is 10 days of prayer between Ascension Day, 18th May, and Pentcost, 28th May), do check out the website here for some resources for you to use in your own prayer lives this week as we prepare to receive afresh the gift of the Holy Spirit in our service at Pentecost.
Morning Prayer at 9:15am
Just a reminder that Morning Prayer is now back in our church buildings as we enjoy the slightly warmer weather!
Wednesday St. James-the-Less, Stubbings
Thursday St. John the Evangelist, Littlewick Green
Friday St. Mary the Virgin
Our churches are open for private prayer:
Littlewick Green – open every day 11am – 4pm
Hurley – open every day 8am – 4pm
Stubbings – open Monday to Friday 9am – 12 noon
Parish Office
As you may be aware, our Parish Administrator Claire is having medical treatment at the moment and is in the office only occasionally. In the meantime, we will be running reduced hours in the office so the best way to get in touch is via the office e-mail (office@burchettsgreenparish.org). There should be someone in the office on Monday and Thursday morning and I will be available as many Wednesday mornings as I can. For anything which you need I can also be contacted on vicar@burchettsgreenparish.org and 01628 822974, - please note the vicar's day off is Tuesday
Blessings to you all,
Tom