St Nicholas Parish Church Fleetwood. Week beginning 14th August 2022
We seek to be a church that lives by faith, is known by love and is a voice of hope
to the community we serve.
Website https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/11671
Sunday 14th August
8.30 am Holy Communion in Church
9.30 am Worship via Zoom
10.45 am Holy Communion in Church Sides persons – Carole & Sandra. Reader – Elizabeth
Tuesday 16th August
12.00 pm Funeral of Peter Harrison in Church
2.00 pm Holy Communion in Church
Thursday 18th August
10.00 am Community Coffee Morning
8.30 am Holy Communion in Church
9.30 am Worship via Zoom
10.45 am Holy Communion in Church Sides persons Judith & Dorothy W. Reader –Karen
Roof Repairs – We had our first site meeting last week with the architect and the contractors who are going to be working on the roof. The start date is planned for 5th September and work should be completed by the beginning of November. We have received several unexpected and generous gifts in the last couple of weeks towards the cost of the repairs, for which we are sincerely grateful. We now have £26,600 in the roof fund against a target of £50,000.
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 THESSALONIANS 5:16–18
Do you know that joy and gratitude are linked? It’s a fact that people who describe themselves as living a joyful life, practice gratitude and attribute their joyfulness to a habit of thankfulness. There are lots of ways to ‘practice’ gratitude but one of the most obvious ways for us is in daily prayers of thanks to God for his bountiful provision.
It’s also a fact that when the practice of gratitude becomes a discipline, we protect ourselves from the more negative impulses of envy, resentment, greed and bitterness. Ancient Israel’s calendar included several annual festivals to remind the people of God’s acts of deliverance and provision, so that they would renew their sense of gratitude and reliance upon the Lord. In Deuteronomy, Moses warns the people that they would be tempted to forget the Lord once they began to enjoy the blessings of the promised land. As a result, they would become proud, ‘worshipping’ their own skills and abilities in place of God. Gratitude counters this. Perhaps one of the greatest obstacles to gratitude is the sheer bounty of God’s generosity – our temptation is to take it for granted.
Take time each day to be thankful, to count your blessings. Ask God to show you the things that you are taking for granted. It's important to recognise that being thankful in all circumstances is not the same as being thankful for every situation in which we find ourselves, but then thankfulness expresses our trust that, whatever the enemy meant for harm, God can use for good.
Thanks be to you, our Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits which you have given us, for all the pains and insults which you have borne for us. Most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother, may we know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly, day by day. Amen.
100 Club – Elizabeth King, David Ashworth and Margery Bond
Please remember in your prayers – Rev Jane Everitt, Tony and Maureen Hardman, Rev Martin Keighley, Gillian & Elizabeth King, Fiona, Eily, Mike Rimmer and John Richardson. Also, the families of Peter Harrison, Stephen Cunliffe, Barbara Blundell and Margaret P whose funerals are due to take place.