Reflection from Jon EllisGenesis 31 ¶ Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?"2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’"4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman.5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."6 ¶ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realised that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (NIV)Reflection – Valentine’s DayWhat does Valentine’s Day mean for you? Do you make a big statement of your love? As teenagers this was an important day. As we get older, we each have different ways of expressing our love. For some people, it can be a time of sadness when it is another reminder of loss. Love is a fundamental part of any relationship. At the marriage ceremony, we submit to our partner. That’s not ‘giving in’, it is respect, care, wanting the best for them, thinking of them more than ourselves.The Genesis account of Adam and Eve’s relationship is a timely reminder of how easily it can go wrong. I remember an occasion as a driving instructor, when we were practising parallel parking. Are you still good at that? People who do it regularly, make it look so easy. For Driving Instruction, it is not easy to find just the right gap between two parked cars. Well, we found a spot which happened to be across a drive. We weren’t actually parking, so I reasoned it would be all right. Apparently not, because an elderly couple came out and ranted at us. There was no appeasing them. We scuttled off to find another spot. What was interesting was how this couple were winding each other up in their anger. One of the wonderful blessings of a good relationship, is that a listening ear can calm you down. That is very important. It is not helpful when, like Adam and Eve, a second person joins in, instead of having wisdom to move on to a better way.Collect 4th Before LentLord of the hosts of heaven,our salvation and our strength,without you we are lost:guard us from all that harms or hurtsand raise us when we fall;through Jesus Christ our Lord. AmenCommon Worship: Collects and Post Communions, material from which is included here, is copyright © The Archbishops' Council 2000
Monday evenings 6:15pm-8:00pm at Holy Trinity Hall Westward Ho! Supper served with tea & coffee Starting 3rd March! For more information call Rev Jules on 07857 946576
At Holy Trinity Church and St Mary's Home Group26 February to 9 March
2nd December Wayfarers 2pm –4pm Holy Trinity 7th December Christingle making 10am-12md St Mary’s Civic Carol Service 3pm St Margaret’s Advent Quiet Day 10am—3pm Broadwoodkelly Village Hall 8th December Christingle 3pm St Mary’s Appledore Singers Christmas Concert 2.30pm at Northam Hall 10th December Christmas Tree decorating St Margaret’s 11th –4th January Christmas Tree Festival St Margaret’s 14th December Coffee & Cake The Royal, Appledore 15th December Candlelight Carol Concert with the Appledore Band At 3pm Holy Trinity 18th December Christmas Recital 7pm St Margaret’s 22nd December Carol Service 6pm St Margaret’s Abbotsham Village Carol Service 6pm Baptist Chapel 23rd December Appledore Torchlight Procession 6.45pm from Pit Hill, 7pm St Mary’s 24th December Christmas Eve Carol Service 3pm Holy Trinity Crib Service 3pm St Mary’s Crib Service 4.30pm St Margaret’s Midnight Holy Communion 11.30pm At St Mary’s, St Helen’s, and St Margaret’s 25th December Christmas Day Holy Communion Holy Trinity 10.30am St Mary’s 10.30am St Margaret’s 10am Community Christmas Lunch 12md-3pm St Margaret’s School Northam