Dear People of God
Grace and Peace to you all
It is sad to report that a long-time parishioner, Geoff Lennard, went to God this week. He died in the John Hunter Hospital on Thursday after a long illness. Our prayers are with Mary in her grief.
Are you “Signing in the Rain”? (Some of you will be old enough to remember that film). Within 12 hours some of the stubble around my place was showing sign of green! We pray for seasonable weather to renew the face of the earth, in spite of what we have done to destroy it.
A reminder that this comings Thursday, 2 November, is the Commemoration of All Souls and there will be a Requiem Eucharist at St Michael’s at 6pm. If you haven’t done so and you wish to add the names of anyone whom you have loved and who has passed into the nearer presence of God, please do so on the list at the rear of the church before you leave today.
I will be announcing at the service today that I have submitted my notice to surrender the parish as from 31 January 2024. After much prayer and soul-searching I have reached the conclusion that it is time to hand over the someone who will be your priest for the next stage of your journey.
I had already advised the Wardens and Parish Council prior to meeting with Bishop Sonia to discuss the situation and then advised Bishop Peter of my decision. It was my intention to keep the matter private until I had made the announcement to the congregation, but I was pipped at the post somewhat by the Bishop publishing it in a list of forthcoming and present vacancies in the Diocese.
I have much enjoyed my time as your priest and thank God for the experience. I will be 80 in mid-January and although I often feel as though I am one of the younger members of the parish (!) it is time to put down some of the load and get stuck onto the numerous tasks that still await me.
My last Sunday in the parish will be 28 January 2024 (You still have me for three months!)
The Lord be with you
Fr George
Propers for the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles and Martyrs
Sentence
Jesus said “You did not choose me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide.” (Jn 15:16)
Collect
Almighty God, you have built your Church on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ himself as the chief cornerstone: we thank you for the apostles Simon an Jude, and we pray that we may reveal your love and mercy, and being joined in unity of spirit may grow into a holy temple, acceptable to you; through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
Readings
Deuteronomy 32:1-4 A song of Moses
Psalm 19:1-6 A prayer for victory
Jude 1-3, 17-25 Warnings and exhortations
Luke 6:12-16 Jesus chooses the Twelve Apostles
Sermon (Fr George)
In the Name of God. Amen
What’s in a name?
In many societies to reveal one’s name to another is to establish a relationship, to give the other person some power over the named one, or to bring them into a degree of intimacy not shared with the wider community. As the Hebrew faith developed, the idea of God grew from some sort of “otherness” as one amongst many deities, vaguely known as “el Shaddai”, where “el” denotes “of God”, as in Micha-el, Samu-el etc. Moses, encountering “something” in the Burning Bush and finding a manifestation of the Divine, asks for a name, thus seeking a closer relationship with the One who is manifesting to him, and God speaks the Divine Name “Yahweh”, literally “I Am” which can also mean “I will be whom I will be” and reveals Godself to be the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob., that, identifying himself as the God who has always been with them. In pious Jewish thought, the Name of God is considered to be so holy as to be unutterable and it was blasphemous to do so. St John deliberately places the name on the lips of Jesus (“before Abraham was, I AM” and “I AM the way the truth and the life” etc) thus bringing the righteous condemnation of the Pharisees upon himself.
So we come to Simon and Jude. Two names. What do we know about them? Pretty well nothing apart from “traditional ascription”: the legends around them are confusing and often conflicting, but that’s really neither here nor there. The important thing is that they are named, and presented as real people, flesh and blood. Jesus didn’t simply call for twelve volunteers and take the first twelve who put their hands up, or were still standing there when everyone else stepped back. He called them by name, they were individuals who were charged with an important mission, namely the proclamation of the Gospel, the “good news that God in Jesus Christ is reconciling the world to Godself”.
Names are important. When I distribute the Eucharistic Sacrament, when I anoint someone, I strive to do so by name (although given a certain absent-mindedness on my part I sometimes forget or get the wrong name and there was one occasion when I came to a person and suddenly lost the name and the person looked at me and said “Guess!” Whoops!) It is an important part of who we are as the Body of Christ, as we will say once again later in this service. With Simon and Jude we have a relationship in Christ. We understand that they gave their lives in obedience to their call: they are important people in the company of the faithful, just as we will remember before God next Thursday in the All Souls Requiem those people who have been, and continue to be important in our lives. We stand in fellowship with Paul and Michael, our Patrons, Mary the Blessed Mother and all the saints, well-known or little-known whom we name in our Calendar. We place our churches and institutions under the patronal care of saints, establishing a relationship in God with others who have gone before us and who support our prayers before the Throne of Grace. Ordinary people who did extraordinary things in the power of the Holy Spirit.
There’s a hymn for this time which runs “In our day of thanksgiving one psalm let us offer for the saints who before us have found their reward. When the shadow of death fell across them we sorrowed but now we rejoice that they rest in the Lord. In the morning of life and at noon and even he called them away from our worship below, but not til his love at the font and the altar had filled them with grace for the way they should go”
So rejoice in God’s saints, today and all days. A world without saints forgets how to praise.
The Lord be with you.
Intercessions (Deacon Gail)
Response to our prayers: Father, hear our prayer: through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We give thanks for the rain which has fallen in these last few days and pray that those areas of our nation presently plagued by drought and fire may find relief. Give us grace. Father God, seriously to lay to heart the peril we face though out wanton misuse of your bounty, and the will to set about remediation.
Father, hear our prayer: through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We pray for the peace of the world; for the Ukraine, Israel and Palestine: for those who are caught up amidst all the turmoil, for leaders of these countries that they may wisely make decisions that will bring a speedy end to the conflict. We pray for the leaders of all nations as they respond to the developing situation.
Father, hear our prayer: through Jesus Christ our Lord.
For the Church throughout the world: The Archbishop of Canterbury as he leads the worldwide Communion scattered in across diverse nations. We pray for the Church in Papua New Guinea, our sister Diocese of Guadalcanal, and in Australia, the Diocese of Willochra and Heads of Christian Churches. In our Diocese we pray for our Bishops Peter, Charlie and Sonia; the parishes of Stroud and Williamtown, Medowie and Mallabula. In our parish we pray for our clergy George and Gail and their families , for our Altar Servers, Chalice Assistants, and Sacristans; and for our fellow-Christians in the Salvation Army Corps
Father, hear our prayer: through Jesus Christ our Lord.
In your compassion, Father, comfort and heal those who are in trouble, sorrow, need or sickness. We pray especially for Mary Lennard in her grief, and for those who have asked for our prayers Doug and Jenny, Colleen, Lynn, Heidi, Derek, Val D, Ben, Fr George, Gail, Peggy, Betty, Gordon, Mick, Ryan and Lisa and Luke S. In a moment’s silence we remember those only to known to us. [PAUSE].
Father, hear our prayer: through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We rejoice in the communion of saints, particularly Simon and Jude as we remember them today in our calendar, and for the glorious hope of the resurrection to eternal life. We commend to your eternal love Geoff Lennard, who has died, and we pray for friends and loved ones departed, especially for Norman Wells and Ronald Campbell whose anniversary of death occurs at this time.
+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
Oct 31 Martin Luther (1546) and the Continental Reformers
Nov 1 All Saints (to be observed next Sunday)
Nov 2 All Souls
SAFE MINISTRY IN THE ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF NEWCASTLE
As a parish we have taken steps to keep our environment safe. Clergy and volunteers are subject to strict requirements such as Working With Children Checks and Safe Ministry training. W are committed to being a safe place where survivors of abuse experience care and support.
A link to our Parish Safe Ministry Policy is being placed on our Parish Website.
FAITHFUNESS IN SERVICE IN THE ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF NEWCASTLE
This is code for personal behaviour and practice of pastoral ministry by clergy and church workers. A copy of this code can be found at https://newcastleanglican.org.au/wp-content/uploads2020/08/faithfuness-in-service-anglican-diocese-of-newcastle-july-2020.pdf
The Anglican Diocese of Newcastle takes allegations of misconduct and abuse seriously. If you would like to speak to someone, please phone 1800 774 945 or contact the through: https://www.newcastleanglican.org.au/governance/safe-ministryprofeessional-standards/
Newcastle Anglicans expresses a profound regret that children were harmed while participating in activities associated with the Diocese. It offers its apology to every survivor. More information can be found at: https:///www.newcastleanglican.org.au/governance/safe-ministry/redress/
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