I had a call from TalkTalk the other day renewing our landline and internet contract at the vicarage. They offered us faster speeds for less money, so I was happy to say yes. Mind you, we had a 24-hour period the other day when the internet vanished for no apparent reason – and it’s amazing how dependent on it we have become considering that it scarcely existed 25 years ago.I use email, WhatsApp and text messaging all the time, but if I want a proper conversation with someone and it’s not convenient to pop and see them I’ll always ring them up. It’s not quite as good as face-to-face of course, but you can still have a proper two-way conversation on the phone. If you need to broach a tricky subject you can judge the reaction of the other person as you go along and change tack accordingly – something that’s much more difficult in text-based conversation.It's often been said that prayer is like a telephone. You can talk to God at any time of the day or night, there’s no charge and He’s never engaged. Unlike the phone you can pray silently as well as out loud, forming the words in your head if you like. It needs to be a two-way conversation too – God answers us by a turn of events, or an inner conviction about something, or the advice of friends.Don’t be like that family member who never calls and then complains they’re out of the loop. Keep talking to God – about everyday trivial things as well as important ones. And don’t forget to listen to what He says in reply.Our services at Barmston Church in August are as follows: Sun 6th at 9.30 am – Holy CommunionSun 20th at 9.30 am – Holy CommunionThere is no Family Service in August.There is online worship from our sister church at Emmanuel, Cardigan Road, Bridlington every Sunday, live on Facebook or in person at 11.00 am, or later in the day on our YouTube channel.
Every year we have a fortnight’s holiday in the Lake District, staying in a flat or a cottage in Keswick. It’s a great base for walks in the fells, as well as offering plenty of teashops for the (frequent) wet-weather days. This year we’ll be joined by new granddaughter Annabeth and her parents, and our other daughter for a few days too. It will be delightful and rather different, having a baby in the house.Psalm 121 in the Bible begins, “I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from?”, and it’s a line that sometimes comes to mind when hiking in the midst of that glorious scenery. Surely the Psalmist is reflecting on how immoveable and serene the hills are, we might think. Not a bit of it. For the ancient Israelites, the hills were where enemy invaders came from. They would scan the mountains with anxiety, not peaceful contemplation. So the second line makes sense: ‘My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.’You and I are unlikely to be glancing up at the Wolds worrying about hostile attack. But we are likely to fear harm from other sources – a cancer diagnosis, perhaps, a drained bank balance, or fall-out with a neighbour. If so, we could do worse than taking heart from the reassuring words in the rest of the Psalm, not least its final verses:“The Lord will keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life.The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and for evermore.” Our services at Barmston Church in July are as follows: Sun 2nd at 9.30 am – Holy CommunionSun 9th at 2.30 pm – Baptism of Casen GrettonSun 16th at 9.30 am – Holy CommunionSun 23rd at 4.00 pm – Family ServiceSun 30th at 9.30 am – Holy CommunionPlease note that our Family Service is on the fourth Sunday this month, not the second Sunday, a pattern we will continue in the autumn. There will be no Family Service in August.There is online worship from our sister church at Emmanuel, Cardigan Road, Bridlington every Sunday, live on Facebook or in person at 11.00 am, or later in the day on our YouTube channel.
From the vicar, Richard HareMy dear old dad died at the end of April. He was 87 and had been ailing since November, so it wasn’t a shock, but I do miss him. We gave him a good send-off last month, complete with music from the folk-dance band he used to play the accordion in, a warm tribute from my uncle, three great hymns – I alternated between tears and grins – and, afterwards, a display of the many things he’d made or mended for friends and family.We know he lives on, of course, in the genes he passed on to the next generation, and the gentle influence he had on everyone who knew him. We also know he is kept safe for us in heaven, in the arms of the God who made and loves him, and whose love he returned.At the time of writing it’s Ascension, when the church celebrates the rising of Jesus, death defeated, to his Father in heaven. The disciples watched him physically ascend until hidden from view by a cloud. That made sense in a pre-scientific age which thought of God’s realm, heaven, being literally above the skies. Now we know a bit more astronomy, I find it more helpful to think of heaven as being another dimension, if you like at right angles to this one, of which we can do no more than catch the occasional glimpse, but which is real and ever-present. On the final day, God will unite this heavenly reality to our own, and the faithful departed – including my dad – will rise again, be clothed with new bodies and worship Him forever.Our services at Barmston Church in June are as follows: Sun 4th at 9.30 am – Holy CommunionSun 4th at 2.00 pm – Baptism of Edward AdamsSun 11th at 4.00 pm – Family ServiceSun 18th at 9.30 am – Holy CommunionHope to see you there.There is online worship from our sister church at Emmanuel, Cardigan Road, Bridlington every Sunday, live on Facebook or in person at 11.00 am, or later in the day on our YouTube channel.
From the vicar, Richard HareI hope you’re looking forward to the Coronation. It’s a big moment in our national life and seems to speak of transition within a reassuringly ancient framework. Kings and Queens have been crowned in Westminster Abbey for nearly 1000 years and, although each generation puts its own stamp on the ceremony, the familiar elements will all be there.The Church of England has suggested a number of appropriate Bible readings for church services over the Coronation weekend. The one we’ll be using at our 9.30 service in Barmston Church on Sun 7th May is Luke 22: 24-30 and acts as a counterweight to all the pomp and ceremony. In it, the disciples are arguing about which of them was the greatest (they were so human!). Jesus tells them off. Earthly kings lord it over their subjects, he says, but you are not to be like that. The greatest should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. Jesus demonstrated this himself by washing their feet, the task usually given to the lowliest servant.The words of the Coronation service will no doubt remind King Charles that his role is to serve his people after the example of Jesus Christ, to be a sovereign who makes sacrifices. That’s not an easy task, to say the least. We’ll be praying for him. Why not join us?Our services at Barmston Church in May are as follows: Sun 7th at 9.30 am – Holy Communion and Celebration of the Coronation of King Charles IIISun 14th at 4.00 pm – Family ServiceSun 21st at 9.30 am – Holy CommunionHope to see you there.There is online worship from our sister church at Emmanuel, Cardigan Road, Bridlington every Sunday, live on Facebook or in person at 11.00 am, or later in the day on our YouTube channel.
