Dear Brothers and Sisters,After the great festivals of the church’s year, we have now entered the tranquil green of ‘ordinary time’, the Sundays after Trinity. For all of us there will be times when life has a particular spiritual or emotional intensity, but for most of our lives we’re called to walk faithfully with Christ in the ordinary time of ‘the trivial round, the common task’. Appropriately enough the theme of this Sunday’s gospel reading from Mark 2 is ‘sabbath’ as we welcome Louise back from her sabbatical and look forward to all she has to share with us from her time away.May we all experience God’s presence with us in work and rest this week.MaggiePlease send all contributions for the newsletter to Gill by the end of Thursday and material for A Church Near You to Tony Raven: tony@theravens.orgServices and calendar for the weekSaturday 1st June 8.00 a.m. 3.00 p.m. Prayer Breakfast Wedding St. Margaret’s St. Margaret’sSunday 2nd June10.00 a.m. 10.00 a.m. Holy Communion Holy Communion St. Margaret’s St. Luke’sMonday 3rd June 10.00 a.m. 7.00 p.m. Take 5 Compline St. Margaret’s ZoomTuesday 4th June 9.00 a.m. 10.30 a.m. Morning Prayer Coffee and Chat St. Margaret’s St. Luke’s church roomsWednesday 5th June 10.00 a.m. 11.00 a.m. 1.15 p.m. 2-4 p.m. 6.30 p.m. Morning Worship Summer study group Lunchtime concert Open Church PCC meeting Zoom St. Nicholas St. Margaret’s St. Luke’s St. Luke’s church roomsThursday 6th June 10.00 a.m. 3.15-4.15 Mini Messy Church Summer study group St. Margaret’s St. Luke’sFriday 7th June 9.00 a.m. Morning Prayer St. Margaret’sSaturday 8th June 7.00 p.m. Concert St. Margaret’sSunday 9th June 10.00 a.m. 10.00 a.m. 3.00 p.m. 6.30 p.m. Holy Communion Holy Communion Open the Story Evensong St. Margaret’s St. Luke’s Forest School St. Margaret’sThe Zoom links and meeting IDs for all the Zoom events are on our pages on ACNY (A Church Near You)St. Luke’s church is now open on Wednesday afternoons between 2.00 and 4.00.All are welcome...To look aroundTo sit quietly for a whileTo light a prayer candleTo pray.Please pray for all our children involved in Take 5, Mini-messy Church, Open the Story. These children are the youngest members of our congregation and our future!Do come along to one of these events, meet the children and their parents and maybe enjoy a cup of coffee.News and NoticesFrom the end of July, there will no churchwarden, unless someone comes forward! If you would like to know more about what is involved, please contact Gill: gyates@uwclub.netThe next couple of months is an ideal time to do a gradual handover.Lunchtime Concerts Wednesdays, 1-15 – 2.00 p.m.These start again on Wednesday 5th June with an organ recital by Paul Cheater.Saturday 8th June 7.00 p.m. Concert in St. Margaret’s. “The Trumpets shall Sound!” Music for trumpet ensembles by Altenburg, Biber, Burgon, Rubbra, Tippett, Wagner, Walton, Wilson. A rare occasion to hear professional brass players from round the country! Tickets £11 (£8 concessions) from Exeter Tickets (01392 665938) and on the door.Eco-Tip As a church we are linked with A Rocha UK in our attempts to be a more environmentally responsible church. One of their recommendations for the month of June is to "engage with nature as an individual, household or with your church community." There are plenty of opportunities to do just that locally, but we are specially privileged in Topsham to have the Bowling Green reserve on our door-step, with excellent viewing facilities at the bird hide and "Look Out." June is a quiet time of the year on the reserve, but there is always something fascinating and beautiful to see. The "hide" is open 24/7, and the "Look Out", with hot and cold drinks, snack bars and ice creams, spare binoculars, exhibits and children's activities, is open from Wednesdays to Sundays 10am - 4pm, when a volunteer is available. David Byrne plans to be there for two Saturday afternoon sessions in June, 2pm - 4pm on 15th and 29th June, and will be pleased to welcome any St Margaret's people who would like to drop by during those times. Both weatherand birds are unpredictable, but he will be happy to discuss anything of interest with you. He can be contacted on 01392 758557 or dbyrne47@outlook.com."Summer Study and Fellowship groupsThe book chosen for the summer session is “Holy Habits” by Andrew Roberts. This week only, meeting in the social area of St Margaret's Church for tea/coffee from 10.40. Continuing on Wednesday 5th June. All are welcome.For more information contact Revd Maggie Stirling Troy:mstirling1@hotmail.co.ukSt Luke's are reading the same book, starting on Thursdays 3-15 pm - 4-15 pm, meeting in their Church rooms and also serving tea/coffee. All are welcome.Saturday 22nd June – The St. David’s Singers, directed by Mark Perry will be performing a Summer Concert at St. Luke’s Church at 7.30pm. They will be entertaining us with popular sacred and secular music. They have performed 11 Christmas concerts at St. Luke’s and they have been very popular. Their concerts have usually included some audience participation, so no doubt we will be invited to sing-a-long on 22nd June. Light refreshments will be served during the interval. You do not need to make a booking to come along. Mark Perry, on behalf of his singers, has very kindly requested that a retiring collection should be given to St. Luke’s Church Funds.Sunday 23rd June Nello’s Longest Table at 5.00 p.m.St. Margaret’s have reserved 2 tables. If you would like to book a place, the cost is £6 per person. Places are already going fast! Contact Gill to book a place gyates@uwclub.netExmouth Food BankSupplies We Are Short Of This Month – June2024·Tins of baked beans & spaghetti hoops·Cereals·Stir in pasta /pasta bake sauces·Tins or packets of soup·Tinned fruit·Peanut butter·Jars of jam·Coffee·Tea bags·Packets of biscuits·Shampoo & conditionerThe Exmouth Foodbank urgently needs bags for life/large plastic bags to enable people to carry their food parcels home. Thank you.Many thanks for your support. We simply couldn’t do this without you!Thank you in advance for your generosity! For further information email: info@exmouthfoodbank.org 07787758511Please find the newsletters for St. Margaret’s and St. Luke’s attached.PrayersFor those who are ill or in need of our prayers:Roger, Lucy, Pauline, Jill and Adrian, Michael, Kirsten, Chris Whitehead, Fay, Tony Bradford, Marlene Gardner, Tony Taylor, Pam Wormald, Mary, Peter, John Heal, Gail MillerHousebound or in nursing/care homes:Alfred Wonnacott, Janet Mutter, Georgina LearPlease pray for Anne Plested supporting the work of Bethlehem Bible College, and Ben and Katy Ray in Tanzania, St. Luke’s CMS mission linkAnniversariesGeoffrey Harding, Christine TriggerErnest Sharman, Richard Darnley-Smith, Helen Bowyer, Christopher Lambert, Marjorie Orr, Arthur Lemon, Bid Vernon-Smith, Jack StonemanRecently departedHeather Carson, Ken NewleyGospel Readings for the coming weekSunday 2nd June Mark 2: 23-3.6Monday 3rd June Mark 12: 1-12Tuesday 4th June Mark 12: 13-17Wednesday 5th June Mark 12: 18-27Thursday 6th June Mark 12: 28-34Friday 7th June Mark 12: 35-37Saturday 8th June Mark 12: 38-endSunday 9th June Mark 3: 20-endCollect and reading for Sunday 2nd JuneO God, the strength of all those tho put their trust in you, mercifully accept our prayers and, because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing without you, grant us the help of your grace, that in the keeping of your commandments we may please you both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ yourSon our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.Mark 2.23-3.6Pronouncement about the SabbathOne sabbath he was going through the cornfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, ‘Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?’ And he said to them, ‘Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.’ Then he said to them, ‘The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.’The Man with a Withered HandAgain he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man who had the withered hand, ‘Come forward.’ Then he said to them, ‘Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?’ But they were silent. He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
Feedback from some who were present.High congratulations all round for pulling off a gargantuan effort last night! I thought it worked extremely well as a piece of music and dramatic effect. Indeed, I, and others, found it quite moving. What a piece of creativity!I'm sure the whole project will be a lasting benefit to your singers and congregation. Bravo!I just wanted to say thank you for last nights rendition of the passion - an amazing effort as always - thank you to everyone involved for all the hard work which went in to this. Please pass on our congratulations to the choir.What a wonderful evening as well as the music so many people said it is such an emotional way to tell the story of this week. We really enjoyed the audience participation. There must have been such a huge preparation by you for the evening ,not only rehearsing the choir and soloists but the administration of the congregation, music sheets etc. I hope you were pleased with the response from us all. Andrew as usual was totally unfazed by the task and Matthew had a hard task well done. I just wanted to say thank you once again for a wonderfully moving St Matthew Passion last night. The emphasis on the story and the sense of all being involved through the chorales was extremely powerful.
As we all pray for peace in Israel and Palestine, please do keep alert to the work of Bethlehem Bible college whom we have been supporting for several years now.All of us at the Bethlehem Institute of Peace and Justice have been shocked and horrified at the ongoing war in Gaza and the unimaginable suffering of the Gazan people. The magnitude of the destruction is beyond comprehension. A thriving city has been destroyed, as well as thousands of innocent lives, the most significant percentage being women and children. The murder of many Israelis was a tragedy, but Israel's response has been beyond excessive. A ceasefire must occur so that the indiscriminate attack on schools and hospitals where thousands of Gazans are sheltered is stopped. Instead of trivializing the need for peace and justice studies, the magnitude of the destruction is a statement of the fruit of the neglect of peacemaking and justice studies. Therefore, we are pressing ahead with all our programs at the BIPJ. Every semester peacemakers from an array of nations from Japan to Tanzania to Belgium and Canada are pursuing graduate-level studies with us for either credit or audit. Anthony Khair, a talented student at Bethlehem Bible College, says of his studies with the BIPJ this semester: "After living through this war in Palestine. I've realized more than ever how important it is to study peacemaking and justice. Therefore, I am eager to continue taking the BIPJ's spring semester course to have a broader knowledge of how to deal with injustices in our context and internationally." Our BIPJ course participants have established deep relationships with each other. The cohort from our two-week residential Summer Intensive last May has continued their conversations about peacemaking and met in live Zoom sessions during the war. The BIPJ is a peacemaking community. Our conviction at the BIPJ is that the more people study peace, the less conflict and war there will be. The prophet Isaiah's vision of the age of the Messiah points to the time when people will not learn about war: "He shall judge between the nations and shall decide disputes for many peoples, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore." (Isaiah 2.4). Instead of learning about war, people must know how to make peace to heal our world. We are so grateful you are part of the Bethlehem Institute of Peace and Justice family. We pray that the Lord will multiply grace and wisdom to you during these difficult days. Let's urgently pray together for the war to end soon. One of the Bethlehem Bible College students, Rose, offers this prayer: In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, JESUS, I want you to be the sunshine of our life. We ask you to be with our people in Gaza, to protect them under their broken homes. Please be with the mothers, fathers, and their children. Our hearts are broken because so many people have died. Amen. For Christ always –