https://www.goodhub.com/go/oxfordshire-historic-churches-trust-200622A number of friends of Launton Church are taking part in Ride + Stride on 13th September. Any sponsorship money will be split 50:50 between St Mary's Church and Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust. This is a great opportunity to look after the village churches of Oxfordshire with an extra special lift for us here at Launton. Please support with sponsorship however great or small. There is a form in church or the link above allows you to give online from the comfort of your home while our cyclists do all the hard work on their bikes. Thank you so much.
Where are you, God? A week has passed since the town of Bicester was shaken to the core by tragedy. The lives of three courageous local people were lost as a fire took hold at Bicester Motion. For some this is a personal grief – the families, friends, colleagues and other contacts of Martyn Sadler, Jennie Logan and David Chester are facing the terrible sorrow of sudden bereavement. For others this sends a shockwave, bringing to mind other experiences of loss and trauma we may have suffered and disrupting our assumptions about what should and should not be. There is a sense of powerlessness and helplessness in the face of circumstances that cannot be changed but nevertheless we gather, because this is something we can do. We stand together, we mark our mutual care, support and love for one another in our presence, in the laying of flowers, in the messages in books of condolence. The psalms, ancient texts in the bible, give us the language of suffering. Psalm 22 is one of those laments where the psalmist cries out to God – Jesus cried out these words as he hung on the cross - ‘My God, my God why have you forsaken me?’ It continues, ‘Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.’ It’s full of honest pain. God can bear it. In despair, we cling on to the hope revealed through the resurrection of Jesus and the promise that neither height nor depth can separate us from the love of God.
The fourth Sunday of Lent was traditionally seen as an oasis in the middle of Lent. It was known as Refreshment Sunday, at least since the 16th century. But you never see it billed as that on church noticeboards. Rather, it is known as Mothering Sunday, unless you buy in completely to the secular idea that it is Mother’s Day. It’s only in England that this happens; in other countries Mother’s Day is another day altogether. But in the Church of England, we quite like a “both…and.. “, rather than an “either….or..”. So for us Mothering Sunday carries several connected meanings. Yes, it is a kind of little “break” in the middle of Lent, a note of celebration in a time of self-discipline. We might even celebrate it with the traditional simnel cake. It is also a time for celebrating Mother Church. The earlier custom was that people away from home (for example, in service) would return to their “mother church”, the parish church where they came from, on that day. It is a reminder that Church is the place where we experience the love of God like that of a mother; caring for us, sustaining, nourishing , supporting. God our Creator is neither male nor female in the human sense, but embodies what we consider the qualities of both. So the Church also displays God’s maternal qualities. So in England, we thought it natural in more recent times to couple all that with an invitation to celebrate the love and care of our own mothers on this particular day. A mother experiences and understands in a very special way the idea of love and sacrifice, through giving birth, nurturing and caring for growing children. Motherhood is a vocation and God gives special gifts of grace to those who respond to that call. As well as praising God for the gift of Mother Church and our Mother Mary, let us praise him once again for our mothers, whether living or departed. And let us pray for all mothers as they face the challenges of their important role. Michael Kingston
The God of second chances and fourth chances and immeasurably more We use the expression ‘second chance’ to describe an opportunity to try again or to start anew after a failure or setback, emphasizing the possibility of redemption and growth. Sunday’s gospel reading talks of a fourth chance. “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’” (Luke 13:6-9) The man assigned the role of caring for the vineyard represents God’s generosity and passion for giving us opportunities to grow and bear fruit. He redoubles his efforts to nurture the fig tree. The God of immeasurably more gives us not just second chances but as many as we need and trusts in our redeemed future where, unlike earthly fruit that decays, we will produce lasting fruit, and he provides the environment we need to succeed. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other (John 15:16) The fruit that God longs for us to produce is of one variety – the fruit of love.
