Mailout for 22 May 2022 (Easter 6, Yr C )

Dear People of God

Grace to you and Peace

I will be absent from the parish for most of next week: the Silent Retreat for Clergy commences on Monday afternoon at Kincumber and concludes on Friday morning. It is an excellent opportunity for clergy to sit quietly with God, take stock of themselves and where they are in their ministry, and to recharge. If you need pastoral assistance during the week please ring the parish office (number listed above) which will be in divert to Gail Orchard, or Mother Sharon: referral as appropriate. I can be sent a text message: I will check of an evening.

A reminder that next Sunday, 29 May, is the FIFTH SUNDAY of the month and there will be one service in the parish, at St Paul’s at 9:30, after which we will adjourn to the Parish Hall for morning tea, the first time we have been able to do this properly since the lockdown began. We had discussed the matter at Parish Council a while ago and decided that it was better for the cohesion of the parish that on the occasions when we had morning tea that it should be at times when we all have the opportunity to meet together, rather than remain in our separate groups for such an event. We will also be celebrating the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord on that day.

Our sympathies are extended to Alva Smart, whose sister Shirley Mitchell died in this last week.

There will be a certain amount of regret or celebration across the parish at the results of the election. No matter whether the candidate of your choice or someone else was elected, and whether or not you support the party forming government, remember that we are a community across the nation, a community of many different social and “tribal” allegiances, but the things which bind us together are deeper and stronger than those that separate us, and we have a duty to continue to hold up in prayer before God all those who are charged with representing us in Parliament and in the good governance if this land. Honest politicians need the prayers of all of us in the difficult and often thankless task. We love to criticise and blame, but all too frequently fail to give prayerful support and credit.

The week between Ascension and Pentecost is kept as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Jesus prayed “Father, that they may be one, as we are one” but throughout its history the Church has been torn by disagreement and mutual excommunication, which is hardly an outstanding advertisement for the Great Reconciliation between God and humankind, brought to us in the Incarnate Word. The various denominations have cautiously started to explore what they have on common rather than what divides them, and are often surprised at just how insignificant the differences are compared to the glorious commonality we share in the Risen, Ascended and Glorified Lord. Look for and celebrate every act of unity and pray that the day will hasten when we may with one voice glorify God.

See you in church

The Lord be with you

Fr George

0410 586 119 gmainprize@bigpond.com

COLLECT and READINGS Year C Easter 6

Sentence

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” says the Lord. “Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid”

Collect

Great and loving God, your will for us in your Son Jesus is the peace which the world cannot give, your abiding gift, the Advocate he promised. Calm all our troubled hearts, dispel every fear, and keep us steadfast in your love and faithful to your word. Grant this through Jesus Christ, the firstborn from the dead, who lives and reigns with you now and always in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen

Sermon (Gail Orchard)

This gospel for today continues on the narrative from the last supper where Jesus is encouraging his disciples to continue his ministry once he is gone. The disciples are mystified and baffled, not comprehending what he is saying. If you can imagine the scene that is playing out - Judas having already left to betray Jesus, and the betrayal of Peter having been foretold; it is easy to consider that Jesus may have been rather emotional when saying these words to his disciples. Jesus had been repeating constantly to his disciples that night: Let not your hearts be troubled. How could Jesus keep talking about peace, when everything was about to change dramatically for him and his disciples very shortly for ever!. He must have known what was about to occur.

Can you imagine the effect that this message of comfort and peace would have had on his disciples? He was not saying that he was giving peace as the world knew it, but his peace comes from doing God’s will and obeying his commands. The peace that Jesus was promising us is today, the same as in his time, hard to imagine. If you think about the world today, we are not very peaceful – in fact anything but, most of the time. The peace that our world offers us is always suspect, always precarious and dependant on so many external factors. The world cannot give what it does not possess. A world in love with war can promise you peace but in the end there’s seldom enough real and lasting peace to go around. We have plenty of examples with the war in Iraq, Afghanistan and the withdrawal of troops from these conflicts, which still causes us problems to this day. The Middle East with all its difficulties and then the Ukraine invasion … we can hardly call ourselves “Peaceful”.

If we are to have peace in our lives, it has to come from somewhere else and that is where Jesus comes in. Jesus is saying that his peace is founded on love, the love of God the Father. He is saying that he will not leave them alone but will send someone to help them and be with them. He tells them that he will send them a Counsellor. In fact, the Greek word actually means someone who walks along with them, and his always present with them, ready to guide and defend. Jesus knows that his disciples do not fully understand what he is saying, in fact they probably won’t until after he has gone. This is when the Holy Spirit will help them to remember his teachings and to interpret them according to their situation. The Paraclete will make all things clear. If we apply this to our current world, we can find this very encouraging. We know that the Holy Spirit is with us to guide and lead us.

Jesus saying “My peace I leave with you, My peace I give you” is very encouraging. This is one of the greatest gifts that could be given to us. The gift of God’s peace is a real gift – we see it in the lives of those who have accepted this freely. We also know that this gift does not come easily and in fact that Jesus told us we would experience hardships. We are told to not be afraid but to accept the gift being offered. Jesus tells us that he is leaving to go ahead and prepare a place for us, that we should rejoice.

We need to remember that God lives in our hearts. The effect of God’s presence is peace. The peace in our hearts spreads peace to our communities and is the foundation of peace in the world.

Amen

Intercessions (Gail Orchard)

The response to “God of promise” is “Hear our prayer”

We pray for the nations of the world, for all in places of conflict and oppression, for those who suffer famine or disease, for the homeless and the dispossessed. Open our hearts to receive your peace, that aggression, injustice, and distrust may cease, and your people live together in trust and harmony.

God of promise, hear our prayer.

We pray for Australia, for the Government elected yesterday; for the indigenous peoples of this land, and for all who have come to this land seeking a new life of acceptance and opportunity. Open our hearts to receive your peace, that prejudice, fear, and intolerance may cease, and your people live together in mutual good will and respect.

God of promise, hear our prayer.

We pray for the church, for all pastors and teachers, for youth workers and evangelists and for all in this place who minister in your name. Open our hearts to receive your peace, that we may know ourselves loved and forgiven and faithfully proclaim your gospel throughout the world. In the wider church we pray for our sister Diocese of Guadalcanal; the Province of the Anglican Church of the Congo, Episcopal Church of the USA; and in Australia the Diocese of Gippsland.

God of promise, hear our prayer.

We pray in this Diocese for our Bishop Peter, for our Bishops Assisting Charlie, and Sonia; for the Cathedral, Corrective Services Chaplaincies and for the parish of Cessnock. In this parish we pray for our priests George, and Sharon, our Ordinand Gail and their families, and for our Op Shop Volunteers. We pray for St David’s Presbyterian Church.

God of promise, hear our prayer.

We pray for our community, for those who lack the resources to meet the demands of life, for the disadvantaged, the destitute and those without hope. Open our hearts to receive your peace, that greed, selfishness, and neglect may cease, and all your people be cared for, welcomed, and valued. In this community we pray for Beresfield Auto Parts, Dowling Real Estate, Ambulance, Fire and Police Services. We pray for our families and friends.

God of promise, hear our prayer.

We pray for all in need, for the lonely, the friendless and for the sorrowing, for the sick and the dying and for all who care for them. Open our hearts to receive your peace, that in distress or despair, pain, or grief we may entrust to you our hopes and fears. Especially today we pray for those who have asked for our prayers Lynn, Betty, Tom, Mischelle, Errol, Lorna, Janette and Gordon; those on our regular prayer list and those known only to us.

God of promise, hear our prayer.

We pray for those who have died in your love, for your faithful people of every age, for Shirley Mitchell who has died this week; for Eric Barker, Evelyn Metrustry, Sue McLaughlin, Blue Campbell, Frank Holland, Eileen Skillen, and Edna Harris whose anniversary of death is at this time. As Lydia welcomed you into her heart. Open our hearts also to receive you, that with Lydia, Paul and all your saints we may know the peace that you alone can give, and come to dwell in the everlasting glory and presence.

+Rest eternal, grant to them O Lord; and let your light perpetual shine upon them.

Almighty God, you have promised to hear our prayers: Grant that what we have asked in faith we may by your grace receive, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

SAINTS and COMMEMORATIONS of the Week

24 May John (1791) and Charles Wesley (1788), priests and evangelists Anglican priests who famously established the “Methodist Club” at university and went on to become the most prominent evangelists of their age. When the English bishops declined to ordain priests for the rapidly growing American branch of the movement, John “commissioned” Superintendents for the ministry, which led to the breach with the Church of England, although he never formally resigned his Orders. Charles strongly opposed the breach and remained a committed priest in the Evangelical tradition of the Church. John was known as a preacher, Charles was prolific hymn-writer, many of which we sing today and many of which are (thankfully) forgotten. He was the father and ancestor of the notable church musicians, Samuel and Samuel Sebastian (“SS”) Wesley. The great Methodist and Catholic Revivals in the Church of England revived what was rapidly becoming a moribund institution.

25 May Bede of Jarrow, priest, monastic and teacher (735) known to history as “The Venerable Bede” and who wrote “The Ecclesiastical History of the English People” from his monastery in Northumbria, where he established a formidable reputation as a scholar and teacher across many academic disciplines. The (Roman) Catholic school at Chisholm is under his dedication.

26 May Ascension Day

Augustine, first Archbishop of Canterbury (605) sent to England by Pope Gregory (the Great), traditionally associated with having seen some Angle (English) boys being sold in the Roman slave market; according to legend, on being informed that they were Angles, he declared “non Angli sunt, sed angeli” (well, he spoke Latin!) meaning “They are not Angles, but angels” although some wits maintain that what he really said was “they not angels but Anglicans”. Augustine had to re-found a church in the south of England which had largely diminished after the departure of the Romans from the British colony.

John Calvin, reformer (1564) was a Swiss theologian during the Reformation whose writings inspired what has become the Reformed tradition of the Church, and associated with some of the more extreme reformed traditions of the Western Church.

28 May Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, scholar (1089 an Italian scholar who became a Benedictine monk :a friend of William (the Conqueror) and was appointed to Canterbury soon after the Norman Conquest. He supported William in developing the independence of the English Church from excessive control from Rome.

And finally,… A SMILE

- From The Church-English Dictionary – The Alpha to Omega of Churchspeak

Drama group: A specific kind of group therapy practised in churches that has immense meaning to participants, but remains hopelessly meaningless (and embarrassing) to the congregation.

Dance, sacred: similar to the above. Even worse though when dancers raise their arms to reveal large, dark sweaty patches that don’t seem to help you concentrate on what you should.

Death: A fact of life, but not the end in the Christian scheme of things. Generally believed to be final but at least One exception suggests a different rule. Simulated by many church congregations every Sunday.