Family Communion for the First Sunday after Trinity: celebrant the Revd Tola Badejo.

First reading: Psalm 42. 1–14
Gospel: Luke 8. 26–39

Psalm 42 is about faith challenged by adversity, and the psalmist's reliance on God even when God seems to have abandoned him. The deer longs for water because. like the psalmist, it is being pursued by hunters intending its death, be they wild animals or humans. The psalmist, against all objective evidence, is utterly confident that in the end God will save him.

In a way, the Gospel illustrates the salvation longed for in the psalm, although it comes to a different person in a completely different context. The man possessed by a legion of demons is not the victim of political conspiracy or civil war, but someone suffering extreme problems of personality or mental health, to an extent that makes his own life intolerable and lays a heavy burden on his community. It's worth reflecting on what Jesus does here: he engages with someone whom most people would, with good reason, be careful to avoid and brings healing in a situation which (like the psalmist's) appeared objectively hopeless.

The Bible is full of animal imagery, and, particularly in the Old Testament, animals are often seen very positively, as representations of attributes of God. In the Christian Middle Ages the stag had come to be regarded as a symbol of purity and nobility, and as such was adopted as an emblem by King Richard II. The image above is the reverse of the Wilton Diptych, a two-panel travelling altarpiece made for the king in about 1395. On the front (see attached) are the kneeling king and, behind him, John the Baptist and two regal saints: Edward the Confessor and Edmund, king of East Anglia. It's interesting that although by this time St George was generally regarded as as the patron saint of England, Richard chose two solidly historical English figures as his supporters, one of whom was undoubtedly martyred for his faith in our own country. Above the St George's Cross banner on the right is a tiny circle which contains a miniature map of Britain - the 'precious stone set in a silver sea' described by Shakespeare in his play 'Richard II'.

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Our main Sunday service takes place at 10.00, and all are welcome. We follow a modern and accessible Common Worship order of service, with Junior Church for children and young people roughly every other week: for details, please see the individual listings on the 'Services and Events' page.

The Cub and Beaver sections of our G46 Scout Group meet on Tuesday evenings: for details, please see the attachment below. The Group's HQ is behind the Church Hall.

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The G46 Scouts meet on Friday evenings, in their HQ behind the Church Hall. For further details, please see the attachment below.

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Holy Communion for the Second Sunday after Trinity: celebrant the Revd Tola Badejo. Junior Church takes place at the same time in the hall.

First reading: Psalm 77. 1–2, 11–20
Gospel: Luke 9. 51–62

There can be few more uncomfortable poems than William Blake's 'The Tiger', with its telling question; 'Did He who made the Lamb make thee?'. The answer is of course that he did; God made apex predators as much as he made cuddly animals, and it follows that the world in which we are placed is one that offers challenges as well as comfort. Psalm 77 illustrates the power of God through descriptions of storms on land and sea, but also reassures us of his guidance, present unseen no matter what is going on around us.

The Gospel is a similarly challenging passage. Jesus is unequivocal: he knows what lies ahead of him, and makes no secret that discipleship is challenging. As so often happens, he makes his point through an image which would have been very vivid in the past and now seems merely conventional; the significance of setting one's hand to the plough is that, in order to drive a straight furrow, the ploughman has to focus on a distant point and keep his eye firmly upon it, never looking back.

Family Communion for the Second Sunday after Trinity: celebrant the Revd Tola Badejo.

First reading: 2 Kings 5. 1–14
Gospel: Luke 10. 1–11, 16–20

The Old Testament reading today is one of the most human and compelling stories in the bible. Naaman, the Aramean general, is an enemy of Israel but he seems to be a likeable character; his wife's captive Israelite slave girl is concerned for his welfare, and later in the story his servants risk his anger to tell him he is making a stupid mistake, something that implies respect and affection rather than the opposite. In the end he is not only healed of his leprosy but also converted to belief in the Israelite God. This faith, however, is a consequence of his healing: the faith that brought about his healing is not his own, but that of of the servant girl and Elisha the prophet.

The story of Naaman shows that God offers salvation to all, not just to those of a particular nation, culture or class. The Gospel describes the early disciples' mission within their own community, spreading the message of Christ's salvation beyond their immediate circle; this is perhaps less dramatic than the conversion of an enemy general, but Jesus leaves no doubt that their task will have challenges as well as rewards.