F R I D A Y F O C U S Get Friday Focus in your in-box each week! - use the contact form to ask Fr Chris to put you on the mailing list.________________________For services this Sunday see the page Worship in our Chaplaincy this Sunday_____________________________________________________________________________The week ahead Tue: 19h45 - 21h15 Bible Study meeting, continuing to read Acts of the Apostles.Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84906038215?pwd=TcRC5ry4m0WaJa8jRh3cYjtJMPEACQ.1 Wed: 10h30-12h00 English Library open, PresbyteryThu: 19h30 Ministry Team meeting on Zoom.Feast of the Week: Lammas Day (1st Aug)Lammas ('Loaf-mass') is an ancient English custom, where the first wheat from that year's harvest would be used to make the bread to use at the Eucharist that day. Lammas is a different spiritual imperative from Harvest Thanksgiving ('All is safely gathered in') - when we offer to God the first and freshest experience of blessing it reminds us to think of God first rather than as an afterthought, and giving back to God the first blessing is also an act of faith that we can rely on God to deliver all he has promised, not just a foretaste. God's generosity should inspire our generosity!To ponder: Are we spiritually sensitive enough to recognise God's blessing as it happens, rather than only afterwards, looking back?To pray: That we may learn to lean on God's promises, yet never take them for granted.Next Sunday (4th August) is the TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY Hommeel Church Gratot: 11h00 Service of Word: Morning PrayerAvranches: 16h00: Holy Eucharist Other notices: GRATOT MEMBERS, PLEASE READ: The format of 'Picnic' will be a bit different this time - we are combining this with an open meeting of the Gratot Committee to talk about recent decisions by the Chaplaincy Council and how they affect us here. We are taking a new direction as a Chaplaincy - this is the moment for all who care about the life of our church to get together to talk and listen: to ask questions, express feelings, share ideas. We need to be realistic about today in order to be hopeful about tomorrow!'I have questions/views, but am unable to attend'? - Two options: you could write your question/comment/idea and send it to Fr Chris who will read it to the meeting, or... pass your question/comment/idea to anybody who is coming, so they can raise it for you and bring back an answer. We welcome participation in this way. MUSIC AT GRATOT: We have no musical support (organist or computer!) at Gratot this Sunday, so the hymns will be sung unaccompanied (we're sometimes better than the computer anyway....) The tunes are well known ones, and are listed on the hymn sheet so we know what we are expecting!DAILY DEVOTION: Another recommendation, this time for someone who prefers to pray 'offices' - brief services for private use, linked to the themes of the Christian Year. This one is a book - robustly bound, with a striking purple colour - but it is old, so you'll have to hunt for it! 'A Christian's Prayer Book' by R C D Jasper dates back to 1972 - it is 'modern' but not aggressively so, you can find out more on Amazon here https://www.amazon.com/Christians-Prayer-Psalms-Prayers-Churchs/dp/0225658836#customerReviews and you can buy it for much less than on Amazon, eg €2.80 via AbeBooks. Ask Fr Chris if you would like to look at a copy.SOMETHING MORE HOUSEGROUP: Apologies for postponing the meeting earlier this week - we will discuss 'religious experience' at the next meeting on 6th Aug. A wealth of really interesting information is being turned up, some raising more questions than answers! (Like: why are Christians half as likely to report having religious experiences as non Christians?) IN YOUR PRAYERS... Peter Hales is much better, and is awaiting discharge from hospital. Michaela Winterman is still in Caen awaiting test results but is doing well. Ayden, new-born grandchild of Caen Warden Marian Clarke, is recovering well from surgery. Sr Marie-Raphael is recovering from recent surgery - she was visited at Granville with flowers from Avranches congregation this week. Our Chaplaincy PrayerLord Jesus Christ, thank you for calling us to be a Church under the banner of your Name: may we look to you today and find clear vision for tomorrow. May our life together bring you glory, as you make of us a living invitation to enter the joy of your Kingdom. AmenLove in Christ, Fr Chrisand the Leadership Team To reply or unsubscribe, please email: frchris.christchurchmanche@gmail.com
