Maundy Thursday John 13 v 5, 12-14 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.......12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. As a baby we will have had an adult wash our feet even if we don’t have the actual memory of the event. But since childhood, can you remember having you had your feet washed by someone else? Have you had your feet washed in public? This year the Maundy Thursday service included foot washing! Rev Jo gave us the opportunity to have our feet washed by her. No pressure; just the opportunity to allow her to do this. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this. Could I cope with that and allow it to happen? Would it take more courage than I had, to agree to this? Could I bear for someone to touch my very ticklish feet? I was in danger of over-thinking this. My feet are no longer pretty - they are mis-shapen with age, worn, lumpy and bumpy. In Jesus time, when He washed the disciples feet, He would have been washing off dirt and grime from the tracks/paths they had walked on. Even though my feet were relatively clean, it was still very humbling to have someone else wash my feet. And so the Rector dressed in her priestly robes knelt and gently washed and dried our feet in turn as we sat before her. It was a very tender moment and one in which I felt surrounded by God’s love, humbled and honoured, precious and loved by God who sent His only Son to die on a cross for each one of us.
Please give thanks to our generous God for the thirty-four hampers that were safely delivered to local families and also the 85 floral gifts to individuals in the run up to Easter. The hampers were stocked with all sorts of dried and tinned goods (plus chocolate!!) and accompanied by a large box of fruit and veg. Each family was extremely grateful and wanted us to pass on our thanks to everyone involved. All who received a flower gift were also delighted-one lady said it had made her Easter as she is rarely able to get to church these days. We asked if the hamper recipients had any prayer requests and offered to pray for them. Several families responded very positively to this. Their requests will be on our prayerline. On behalf of all of the Hope Team, I would like to thank everyone who has made this possible: the schools, the churches of Sharnford and Sapcote; those that have given donations; people who have delivered for us and the Hinckley Area Foodbank for providing the food. It is a most wonderful team effort. Please pray that all of those we have been in contact with or have contributed in some way will truly experience God's love and Hope this Easter. Di pp The Hope team
We have started a new drop-in on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month, 2.00 pm – 4.00 pm in the church hall. There will be a warm welcome, fellowship, cakes, tea, coffee and board games including scrabble, upwords, rummikub, dominoes and cards, etc on offer. We are asking for donations of up to £1 and everyone is welcome. Please join us - we would love to see you there. Feel free to share this with others you know who would like to join us. Also feel free to bring along your favourite game and introduce it to others. Jill Matthews.
Hope@Christmas2022 You will all be aware and concerned that many families will be struggling this Christmas due to soaring energy costs and food prices. So once again, the churches and schools of Sharnford and Sapcote are helping support them through Hope@Christmas 2022. We will now be distributing 40 hampers between Sapcote and Sharnford. This is the largest amount to date. All of the families and individuals nominated will receive a gift for each person, alongside the food hamper, which we hope will brighten their Christmas. Once again, if you would like to buy a gift, please do not spend more than ten pounds and do not purchase anything containing alcohol or cigarettes. There are boxes at the back of church in which to deposit gifts. Please do so by Wednesday 14th December. If you would like Di to purchase a gift on your behalf, please speak to her or ring her on 01455 272928. The Hope@Christmas gift list can be found through this linkhttps://docs.google.com/document/d/11yiA73Tjo2jm1eTXplm6t6RegoC sqEw9LL9eGk2nghY/edit?usp=sharing Many thanks. Di Harrold pp The Hope TeamNB Please continue to pray!! Please pray that as we reach out to these families they will experience God's love and hope this Christmas. Please contact Di Harrold, if you need to know more at assapcote2019@gmail.com. Thank you for all of your ongoing commitment and support for those in need.
