Daily Scripture‘Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.’ (Philippians 2:3-4) Daily ReflectionNow in these Covid times this is what we need to learn more and more, to look to the interests of others. It is easy for us to become inward looking, scared and uncertain as we are. As long as I, or we, are alright, everything is fine. In the last lockdown, a lot of panic buying and hoarding went on, with many forgetting the needs of their neighbour. Jesus teaches us a better way, here expressed by his apostle Paul. When we look towards the interest of the other, we ourselves will find our deepest need met: to know that we belong, first of all to each other, and ultimately to God. Jesus says the same, namely: Love the Lord your God and your neighbour as yourself.Revd Ylva
Daily Scripture‘I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints’ (Paul’s letter to Philemon verse 4)Daily ReflectionToday is the Feast of All Saints. When we think of saints we most probably think of the great heroes of the faith, often depicted in stained glass windows, and known to us from the Bible, or from history or legend. Their stories inspire and encourage us. They remind us of what God can accomplish in ordinary human beings.Paul, in his letters, refers to all his hearers as ‘saints’, which means ‘holy ones’ - although clearly they are still far from perfect. They, like us, are called to be holy. We, like them, are work in progress.Let us thank God for all those who have inspired and encouraged us in our faith, and pray that we may have grace to fulfil our own calling to be his holy ones in the world today.Revd Rosemary
Please see attached for weekly news and services for the Benefice of Benenden & Sandhurst, Kent.Sunday Services: Sunday 1st November8 am Holy Communion at at St Nicholas, Sandhurst10am Holy Communion at St George's, Benenden
Daily Scripture‘Praise the Lord!How good it is to sing praises to our God; for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.’ (Psalm 147 v 1)Daily ReflectionDo you ever find that the act of gazing at a beautiful painting, or listening to a piece of music or even reading a good book, makes you feel better - something deep within you has been moved by the sheer beauty of the scene, sound or word?This strange power that beauty has is almost akin to a ‘pain killer’ - it heals the wounds of our normal everyday lives - lives so often full of anxiety, stress & physical pain. There is something within our human nature that desperately searches for beauty - a search that cannot be suppressed even by the most terrible of events.God is gracious and God’s beautiful actions bring us life in the form of his wonderful creation - so let us sing praise to the Lord.Lyn Hayes ALM
