Sunday 28 October 2012

30th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR (SS Simon ~& Jude)

At today’s Parish Mass Father Martin presided and Father Mervyn played the organ, preached and led the Intercessions. As it is Half Term Sunday School was on a break too. In his sermon Father Mervyn pointed out that, although we knew very little about either Simon also known as the Zealot or Jude also known as Thaddeus to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot, never-the-less they were both Apostles called by Jesus and bore witness to the Apostolic Faith which we too are called to follow. He pointed out that whilst it would have been easier to preach about blind Bartimaeus, which is the chosen Gospel in the International Lectionary rather than Simon or Jude, never-the less , like the two saints, Bartimaeus had followed Jesus. We cannot exist as Christians in isolation we need to be part of the company of Christians of whom Jesus is the Cornerstone.

The gas boiler in the hall broke down during last week and is to be replaced during this week. It was decided to continue with refreshments after Mass as normal.

Yesterday’s Saturday Shop took £154

WINTER BAZAAR

17th NOVEMBER OPEN

FROM 10.00 A.M. - 1.30 P.M.

It is only a few weeks away now and all offers of help are most welcome; please speak to either Geoff or Father Martin.We can set up on Friday from 5.00 p.m. or on Saturday from 8.00 a.m.

GRAND PRIZE DRAW

Tickets for the Grand Prize Draw are now available from Carol. If you haven’t yet purchased any please buy some yourself and take some to sell to your neighbours. They are 20p per ticket or £1 a book.

The draw will take place at the Bazaar.

THE BIG MOP OUT

This has been cancelled due to the work being undertaken in the hall with the new boiler

Monday 22 October 2012

ST. AUGUSTINE’S SCOUT GROUP CELEBRATE ITS 60th ANNIVERSARY

WOSMThis afternoon our Scout Group the 11th Romford, celebrated its 60th anniversary with a service on church in the presence of Andrew Rosindell, MP for Romford, the District Commissioner for Scouts and other honoured guests. Following a presentation by the Group of the last 60 years led by Gary, Group Scout Leader,the District Commissioner presented a warrant to a new Scouter who then made her Scout Promise and he also presented a Jack Petchey Award to Hannah.

Andrew Rosindell presented the Group with a special framed citation and he also made a similar presentation to Father Martin for the congregation of St. Augustine’s, saying he would like to come to a Parish Mass in the near future to make the presentation personally.

Prayers were led by three members of the Group and Father Martin. After the blessing given by Father Mervyn, two verses of the National Anthem were sung and everybody adjourned to the hall for cake and tea, coffee or soft drinks and the cutting of the special 60th anniversary cake.

Sunday 21 October 2012

28th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Today Father Mervyn presided and Father Martin concelebrated at the Parish Mass, read the Gospel and preached to another packed church. In his sermon Father Martin described 2012 and especially the summer as a time when we, the UK, had enjoyed considerable success. He mentioned the Tour de France, the Olympics, tennis etc. Sportsmen and women looked for success in their chosen sport and this engendered a desire for success amongst the rest of us. It was this desire for success that had led James and John the sons of Zebedee, to ask Jesus for the privilege of sitting one on his right and one on his left when his kingdom arrived. Jesus pointed out that this was not something he could grant but he would allow them to participate in the suffering that he would eventually undergo.

YESTERDAY’S SATURDAY SHOP TOOK £161

Holy Land Pilgrimage Update.

Due to several completed forms coming in we are now well on our way with numbers BUT there are still places, so why not book your place this week and make sure of your place on this once in a lifetime pilgrimage.

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Change? Is it possible?

From The Pioneer – the Magazine of St. Augustine’s, Rush Green

‘The Church of England is in crisis over the appointment of the next Archbishop of Canterbury’, so said the headline to an article in my copy of the Daily Telegraph on October 1st. The article went on to claim that the 16 strong Crown Appointments Committee were divided over who to recommend and that this division was the result of the different viewpoints of the members; nothing new there then I thought. The impression was given that the problem was between those who supported progressive ideas and those who held to strongly biblical ones. The result was an impasse that meant that we would not now have a new Archbishop ready to be enthroned as the old one stood down.

But wait, just a few days later and the same journalist, in the same paper was claiming that in the light of new information he could now reveal that the impasse was not over the interpretation of theology or women or same sex couples, but over whether to seek radical change in the C of E or whether to have a ‘safe pair of hands’ and stay the same.

This was an article that truly caught my attention, for suddenly there was a departure from the well worn battle lines of the last few years and an apparently new problem of how to see and approach the future. This later article set me to thinking, firstly such a revelation (if true) can only have come from someone in ‘the room’, either one of the 16 delegates or someone acting in a support capacity to them, such as a clerk or maybe even the tea person. Secondly, it would imply that the usual alliances of tradition and gender had broken down in order to form a set of strange new ones where the boundaries are, if anything, even more fixed. And thirdly, it invites the State in the form of the Prime Minister to become involved in breaking the impasse by ultimately making its own recommendation to the Queen.

The questions then are do we change? Indeed is change even possible given that we are the church of the state? And if we change, what do we change into?

The following are purely my own thoughts and not in any way some form of official policy. Firstly change in some form must be possible given that without it we would not even exist. The C of E was founded on a desire to change from Papal rule. We changed our services from Latin to English and designed our own Prayer Book, most recently we have changed to Common Worship; the only difference though is that we have never changed our structure, merely who heads the church and how we conduct our worship.

Secondly, I believe that if we really want to have a radical rethink of the way that we function then we need to be free from being the church of the state, the very fact that government has a say in the running of the church influences the way we think and act since any change we make could equally lead to them having to change in the light of public opinion.

So then what could we change into? The recently appointed Bishop of Durham (and a hot contender for Archbishop of Canterbury) has turned his diocese upside down and asked each parish or group of parishes’ to work out what it can afford to give over and above its operating expenses and guarantee to pay over that sum to the diocese, The Bishop will then deploy his clergy according to the resources available to him, using those who are non stipendiary to fill in the gaps.

There would be no teams of advisors or admin other than that provided by voluntary helpers and only a few centrally paid staff. Some of this is heavily hinted at in our own Bishop of Chelmsford’s ‘Transforming Presence’ but the real source is, I suspect, the early church, which grew and grew with none of the clutter that we now have, but where everybody did what they could and everyone supported each other. Radical – yes, Safe and secure – no, but a change that would truly reflect the Bible – we shall see.

May God be with you - Fr. Martin.

Sunday 14 October 2012

A PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY LAND

With Father Martin & Father Mervyn

21-30 October 2013

Travel with us to the Holy Land and let the Bible come alive as we meet the people and see the places of the gospel stories. On our journey, we will visit places of pilgrimage and also meet the local Christian community, offering them our support and encouragement as we hear of the challenges they face.

Our pilgrimage is planned for October, when the weather should be warm but not too hot for touring. Visits will include the Sea of Galilee,

Capernaum, Nazareth, Jericho, Jerusalem and Bethlehem with free time for relaxation and reflection. We will walk along the Via Dolorosa.

The Holy Land is unique in offering so many highlights and contrasts in such a compact area. We are confident that this pilgrimage will not only be an enjoyable experience, but also a spiritually enriching one.

TOUR INFORMATION

The cost of this tour is £1,740 sharing a twin-bedded room with private facilities.

We stay in two family owned and managed hotels. In Jerusalem, the three star Golden Walls Hotel overlooks the Old City walls and is within walking distance of the Holy Sepulchre. In Tiberias, we stay at the four star Ron Beach Hotel in a wonderful situation right on the lakeside. The tour is on a full-board basis with buffet breakfast, lunch and table d'hôte evening meal included daily.

Touring is in air-conditioned coaches and we will be accompanied by a local guide who will share leadership responsibilities and look after the formalities of hotel check-ins etc.

All entrance fees are included as is a contribution of £45 to the group gratuity fund.

Flights are with EL AL Israel Airlines between London Heathrow and Tel Aviv. All airport and security charges are included and a complimentary visa is issued on arrival in Israel.

We have included most expenses in the tour cost but some items are listed separately on the booking form.

The travel insurance premium is £59. Everybody travelling should be insured but some may have annual or another suitable insurance.

Single rooms are available at a supplementary cost of £295.

Any special requests should be noted on the booking form.

A deposit is payable now (£100 + £59 optional insurance fee) with the balance payable 8 weeks prior to departure.

FOR MORE DETAILS OR TO MAKE A RESERVATION, SPEAK TO

Fr. MARTIN

28th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

As our Organist was away this Sunday Father Martin presided at the Parish Mass whilst Father Mervyn played the organ and preached. He illustrated his sermon with a story about a fisherman and pointed out that the young man in the Gospel who was very wealthy felt unable to accept the challenge of giving up his wealth to become a follower of Jesus. It was a challenge we had to make by choosing what was most important to us: Jesus or the wealth and ways of the world.

Archdeacon Father Samuel was with us again this morning but will be returning home to Nigeria next week-end. He goes with our good wishes and our prayers.

Yesterday’s Saturday Shop took over £190

Tuesday 16th October Rosary at 7.30 p.m. followed by a meeting of the Social Sub-Committee.

Monday 29th October Meeting of the Finance Sub-Committee

THE BIG MOP OUT

THURSDAY 1st NOVEMBER following the Mass a complete clean of our Church Hall. Bring a mop and plenty of elbow grease!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday 7 October 2012

27th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

At today’s Parish Mass Father Mervyn presided and Father
Martin read the Gospel and preached. We welcomed Father Samuel, from  Idi-oro, Nigeria, who is visiting family who live in the parish. In his sermon Father Martin compared how we are innocent as babies, and how what we become as adults, is fashioned by other adults especially parents. He mentioned what seems to be the impasses over the selection of a new Archbishop of Canterbury and commented on the failure, it appears, to come to a conclusion on a candidate suitable to all those involved.

Yesterday’s SATURDAY SHOP took £174