Bread is a staple food in many parts of the world. Today we are less aware of this because we have access to so many foods from all around the world. My experience of staple foods goes back to my childhood and more recently to working in Lebanon at the end of the civil war. At the school for the deaf where I was staying you knew that the lunch meal and the evening meal was always rice. You could have as much rice as you wanted so you wouldn’t be hungry but then a few vegetables and a little meat was added. Take away the rice or limit the rice then many of us would be hungry. If Christ had been with us in Beirut he would have said, “I am the rice of life”.Jesus is saying to us, ‘without me you will be hungry’. You can only live a full life if you take me within you. Here at the Eucharist we have the chance to receive the bread which has been set aside for us by being blessed and consecrated by God and which becomes the body of Christ. Jesus, at the last supper, took the bread gave thanks to God saying, “take eat this is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” That is precisely what we are doing at St Peter’s this morning.At the invitation to Communion it says, “ Receive the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he gave for you . . . in remembrance that he died for you and feed on him in your hearts by faith with thanksgiving.” During the pandemic this has not always been a physical reality but has had to take place within our hearts as we have not always been able to be with one another in person in our church building. Whether we are together physically or in spirit we join together in heart and mind and become the body of Christ, the Church. In heart and mind we are also connected to other churches and christians wherever they may be.To use some ancient words we are also connected both to the church militant and the church Triumphant, and therefore to all Christians who have gone before us, to those alive now and to those who will follow in our footsteps.As our Gospel tells us if we receive Christ, the bread of life we will live for ever, death is no longer the end but the beginning of a new life with God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.The Reverend Father Andrew Lane, Society of St Luke.
Lord, direct our thoughts, and teach us to pray. Lift up our hearts to worship you in spirit and in truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.‘I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.’ (Psalm 34:1-3)Hymn: Just as I am, without one plea...1 Kings 19:4-8The gospel calls us to turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ. As we offer ourselves to him in penitence and faith, we renew our confidence and trust in his mercy. Let us confess our sins: Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have sinned in thought, word and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen.May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Prayer for the day: Lord of heaven and earth, as Jesus taught his disciples to be persistent in prayer, give us patience and courage never to lose hope, but always to bring our prayers before you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.John 6: 35, 41-51Please see the Message from the Minister.Let us pray:We pray for St Peter’s Church and the Church throughout the world: for the strength and courage to share God’s love;We pray for the world: for reconciliation where there is conflict, for justice and peace;We pray for our communities, families and friends: for relationships to flourish;We pray for all who are sick or suffering: for healing in mind, body and spirit;We pray for people who have been bereaved: for comfort in their grief.Let us pray the prayer that Jesus taught us:Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done;on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses,as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.Hymn: Guide me, O Thou Great Redeemer...May the love of the Lord Jesus draw us to himself, the power of the Lord Jesus strengthen us in his service, the joy of the Lord Jesus fill our hearts, and may the blessing of God Almighty who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest upon us and and be with us always. Amen.Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord, in the name of Christ. Amen.
Lord, direct our thoughts, and teach us to pray. Lift up our hearts to worship you in spirit and in truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.‘Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.’ (Psalm 78:1)Hymn: Christ is the King! O friends rejoice...Ephesians 4:1-16The gospel calls us to turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ. As we offer ourselves to him in penitence and faith, we renew our confidence and trust in his mercy. Let us confess our sins: Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have sinned in thought, word and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen.May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Prayer for the day: Almighty God, who sent your Holy Spirit to be the life and light of your Church: open our hearts to the riches of your grace, that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit in love and joy and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.John 6:24-35Please see the Message from the Minister.Let us pray:We pray for St Peter’s Church and the Church throughout the world: for the strength and courage to share God’s love;We pray for the world: for reconciliation where there is conflict, for justice and peace;We pray for our communities, families and friends: for relationships to flourish;We pray for all who are sick or suffering: for healing in mind, body and spirit;We pray for people who have been bereaved: for comfort in their grief.Let us pray the prayer that Jesus taught us:Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done;on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses,as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.Hymn: I, the Lord of sea and sky...May the love of the Lord Jesus draw us to himself, the power of the Lord Jesus strengthen us in his service, the joy of the Lord Jesus fill our hearts, and may the blessing of God Almighty who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest upon us and and be with us always. Amen.Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord, in the name of Christ. Amen.
The last 18 months have given us a lot to think about and reflect upon. Houses in this region and down in Cornwall are being snapped up as people aim for a better quality of life, where nature’s beauty is seen instead of grey concrete and traffic. Church services have been curtailed, and at times stopped altogether, which allowed some people to drop in to other churches or cathedrals via the internet, TV or radio. This helps us all to think about what we’re doing in church, and perhaps what we might do. What do we go to church for?Until I was 50 years old I had no intention of going to church at all. I didn’t start to seriously think about it until I was bereaved. I’d never thought through the deep questions: Did God really exist? Was there such a thing as heaven? I knew for sure that I didn’t want to talk to anyone about it, to go to church, or to become religious. I had distant memories of a Sunday school where kind ladies gave us biscuits and told us Bible stories in a fun way. The answer was supposed to be in the Bible, so I began to read the New Testament. Before long, I believed in Jesus. That was the beginning. I began to pray to Jesus every evening, asking questions. Somehow, they progressed, and raised more questions. One evening, I asked what worship meant. What was I supposed to do? Did I have to kneel?Some weeks later, in prayer, I was given a vision of Jesus in a form of light, in which I was invited to go to his house in a voice which could melt butter. It wasn’t audible, but I heard it anyway. I wrestled with it. I really didn’t want to go to church services, or to tell anyone about it. I knew that I hadn’t imagined it. I couldn’t say no to Jesus. I went to the local church service. The sermon was about worship: meeting together in Jesus’ name, sharing communion, reading the scriptures and praying, all of this is worship, as is our service to other people - everything we do in the name of Jesus.For four years I dropped in to different churches each Sunday, whether Methodist or Baptist or United Reformed or Anglican or Free Churches or the Salvation Army. Mostly I was welcomed, sometimes I was ignored. Some had bands or musicians, organs or pianos, a few had choirs. Some sermons were long and rambling, others were short and sweet. Some services left me cold, others left me elated. I learned a lot. I went because I knew it was what Jesus wanted of me, to be and to worship alongside other people who also believed in Jesus. At the same time, I was being called into service outside of church, to be alongside people who needed a listening ear, drawn near to people who were suffering. Worship was about loving God and other people.I finally settled into a C of E church. Ten years ago I was licensed as a lay minister. I know that God wants me to serve within as well as outside of the church. Everyone has a calling into service from God, whether or not it’s one which is based primarily within the Church. As in our reading: ‘The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.’ God wants us to work together in community, and so we’re all given gifts which complement each other, as we work side by side. There is no male or female, slave or free, lay or ordained, young or old - we’re all one in Christ. The Church is the body of Christ, the people we meet and worship with side by side, those who love God and other people too. We’re spiritually nourished here, whether or not we are conscious of it. We’re equipped for service as we live as disciples throughout the week. Our workplaces and communities benefit from the love of God we take out and share with them. Sometimes we, like the crowd in our reading, wonder where Jesus is, and then we find him in extraordinary places and people.Living and serving our everyday faith isn’t easy, which is why we need to return to God’s house to be nourished by the true bread from heaven, Jesus Christ, who said “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent,” and “‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”What we do in service will change over time, but it never ends. God is faithful. We can rely on him to bring good out from every situation, even a pandemic. Nothing is ever wasted. We learn from our mistakes and from all we go through. We’re better able to relate to others as a result, to people who are suffering, and to share the hope and love we continue to receive. Amen.Julie Rubidge, Lay Minister
