One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism
Dear friends,
I have done a number of baptisms over recent weeks and we always welcome the baptised into God's family with the words above - "there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, by one Spirit we are all baptised into one body." But sometimes it can feel like that isn't quite the case when we look at our wider church. When we say our creed as well - the phrase "one holy, catholic and apostolic" not meaning catholic in the Roman sense but in the sense of being united and of one purpose. As discussions continue in our own Church of England around the church's responses to same-sex marriages, it seems that unity can sometimes be a bit of a lofty aim.
We can roll out all sorts of clichés around unity as well - "together we stand, divided we fall" is perhaps a bit to close to the mark for some though! But I truly believe that it is through seeking after unity that we discover God. If we are starting from a standpoint of trying to be united then we might just find we get closer than we expect to. But if we are starting from a point of view of defending our own opinion then we are on a losing track from the start. In our post-truth era, we can often find people rising and falling in public popularity with even greater speed than they ever have done in the past. As public opinion changes, so the perception of figures in public leadership changes.
It is not easy to seek unity though. And unity does not always mean compromising what we believe. Unity is not about winning or losing an argument on who is right, it is about realising that who is right doesn't matter even if we could come to a conclusive answer! Our opinion, our beliefs, our faith - they are all shaped by our lives and our backgrounds. That doesn't make them any better or worse than anyone else's but it does mean they've been uniquely influenced. If we can learn to live with others who have different opinions from us - learn to sit together in a service and share our stories together despite our differences - then we might begin to seek after the unity that leads us to God. And, if we are united with our sisters and brothers, we might find it a little easier to keep the faith!
October Services
Sunday 8th October
8am - Holy Communion (BCP) @ St. James-the-Less, Stubbings
10:30am - Holy Communion @ St. Mary the Virgin, Hurley
4pm - Harvest Family Service and Meal @ St. John the Evangelist, Littlewick Green
Sunday 15th October
9:15am - Holy Communion @ St. John the Evangelist, Littlewick Green
10:30am - God in Quiet @ St. Mary the Virgin, Hurley
11am - Harvest Service and Meal @ St. James-the-Less, Stubbings
Sunday 22nd October
9am - Come to the Table @ St. James-the-Less, Stubbings
10:30am - Holy Communion @ St. Mary the Virgin, Hurley
Sunday 29th October
10am - Parish Communion @ St. John the Evangelist, Littlewick Green
Young Soloist Concert and Festival
[There are still some tickets available for this]
On 7th October we have an opportunity to celebrate the talents of four young soloists from our local area at our concert. We're having it at St. Mary's in Hurley and it starts at 7pm - we'd love for you to join us and we are sharing wine and nibbles afterwards where we will find out a little more about what might be in store for us in the festival in May 2024. Book your tickets for the concert here: https://www.hurleymusicarts.com/
Raffle Tickets and Hampers
As we begin to approach the latter part of the year, we do look forwards to December when we celebrate Christmas. We will be drawing a raffle in early December where you have an opportunity to win some hampers amongst other prizes. If you have any donations for the hampers or would like to buy any tickets, please get in touch with Claire in the office.
Walking Group
Join us on Monday 9th October for our next walk at Boulter's Lock. Meet at Littlewick Green Church at 10am to share lifts or at the car park at Boulter's Lock at 10:15am. We will walk along the river and then have coffee and chat at the Boathouse Pub. The walk is on level paths through the attractive park and you may walk whatever distance is comfortable for you. Suitable for wheelchairs too.
Morning Prayer at 9:15am
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
Please get in touch with Claire via the office e-mail (office@burchettsgreenparish.org). She is there on Monday-Friday mornings and can be contacted on 01628 820077 as well. For anything which you need I can also be contacted on vicar@burchettsgreenparish.org and 01628 822974, - please note my day off is usually Tuesday.
Blessings to you all,
Tom