Goring Parish News Printed GPN Copy: £1 June / July / August 2020 Issue 71
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Christ-Centred: Growing in Faith, Love and Service Goring Parish News Printed GPN Copy: £1 June / July / August 2020 Issue 71 St Mary's and St Laurence's Churches, Parish of Goring-by-Sea, West Sussex. Registered Charity 1131418 Website – http://www.goringbyseaparish.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StMaryAndStLaurenceGoringBySea "LORD, you said that once I Footprints in the Sand decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me." The LORD replied: "My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia you." From ‘Footprints in the sand’ by Caroline Joyce Carty This issue includes: 2 Editorial - Copy Deadline Date for Next Issue GPN 72. 18 The Children’s Society 3/4 From the Vicar – Father Keith Littlejohn 19 Lockdown Worship: Online Worship! 4 News from the Diocese - New Suffragen Bishops 20 Mary Magdalene (feast of, 22nd July) 5 Wardens’ Warbling 21 RIP: Pauline Wakeling and John Lloyd 6 Diary of Notable Dates - June/July/August 22 PMF: June - September - Family Support Work 7 Lectionary Readings - June/July/August 23 Parish Giving Scheme / Marmalade 8 Christian Breadcrumbs 31 - “Time and Eternity” 24/25 Update from Malawi (Christian Resource Mission) 9 ‘Kindnesses’ - a poem by Val Tree 26 Easter Day pictures / WTS Lectures 10/11 History Behind the Hymn - In Christ Alone 27 Younger Readers’ Corner 11 The Church of the Good Shepherd, New Zealand 28 Traidcraft News 12 Local Eco News: Kelp - David Burt 29 St Mary’s Social Circle / Smarties Toddler Group 13 Parish Mission Giving in 2020 30 When this is all over 14/15 Parish Mission Focus (PMF): April-June - Worthing4Refugees 31 And Finally by Bill Tree / Wedding Anniversaries 16/17 Nature Watch 32 Parish Contacts Editorial.... Welcome to the ‘Summer’ edition of Goring Parish News. From now on the magazine will be published quarterly. There are many reasons for this change: up-to-date information is readily available via the website/Facebook/Instagram/newsletters; there is a change of emphasis in our mission support to concentrate on more meaningful quarterly support; and lastly to ease a little pressure on Editorial Team members’ time. Thank You The Editorial Team of Goring Parish News would like to take this opportunity to thank our many contributors. Even in these challenging times, your timely offerings ensure that GPN continues to be an interesting read, with an eclectic mix of articles. If you have not submitted anything yet, now is the time to have a go. With all this time on your hands (!!) dig out that favourite recipe, poem or photo and send it to [email protected]. We look forward to seeing them. Occasionally we do not have room to include all your contributions - on these rare occasions the article will be held over to a future publication. Copies of GPN are sent out direct to individual email addresses. If you do not already receive yours this way and would like to, please send your email address to [email protected]. You will be asked to complete a form by return, which can also be found on the parish website. This ensures compliance with the requirements of GDPR. Back issues and supplementary articles can also be found on the Parish website: http://goringparish.org. Items for the weekly Parish Update Sheet should be sent to reach the Parish Office by 11:00 on Wednesdays. Email to: [email protected] Please do not send them to Goring Parish News. The next Goring Parish News, Issue no. 72 Edition Copy Deadline Issue Date Sept/Oct/Nov 2020 Tuesday, 4th August Sunday, 30th August Goring Parish News is published by Goring PCC Parish Office, 16 Ilex Way, Goring-by-Sea, Worthing, BN12 4UZ Goring Parish News is normally printed by West Park School, whose support we gratefully acknowledge. Official Goring Parish Facebook page and Instagram Our Parish has an official Facebook page! It’s called St Mary’s and St Laurence’s Churches, Parish of Goring-by-Sea, West Sussex, and includes all our latest news. We are now on Instagram too: goringbyseaparish Fr Keith, Pam Chilton, Lucinda Cox, Kate Henwood and Ruth Jepson are the administrators of the page. Please contact us with any comments or suggestions. Please also share the page and its postings with your friends! https://www.facebook.com/StMaryAndStLaurenceGoringBySea/ 2 The Editorial Team From the Vicar — Father Keith Littlejohn Dear friends, Pray attention… A few words about prayer. I offer this for two reasons: firstly, because over the years - and to the present - people have often spoken to me about their struggle to pray, and have asked for advice; and secondly, because some interesting research shows that many people who are not accustomed to pray have begun in recent weeks to do so. Significantly, most of this prayer seems to be related to the current pandemic and takes the form of what we call ‘intercession’. The basic meaning of this term is to intervene on behalf of another. We might rightly understand this dimension of prayer to be sacrificial (as all prayer is): we are offering something from and of ourselves - our time and energy - for the benefit of someone else. We should also understand this as being a loving act. That does not mean that we necessarily have great feelings of affection for the one whom we are holding in prayer, but rather that the very act of prayer itself is a loving one. Indeed, Jesus is clear that we should pray for those who hate us. There are many other aspects of prayer (though perhaps we should not over-differentiate), but let us ponder intercessory payer for a moment. I remember a clichéd scene in the hoary old films that I used to watch on rainy Sunday afternoons when I was a child. There would come a moment of crisis - let us say, for example, a medical emergency in which a life hung by a thread - the doctor would come out of the sick room, gently closing the door and, looking at the assembled persons, he would gravely say something like, “Well, I’ve done everything I can. All we can do now is pray.” Familiar? The thing that strikes me is that prayer in those situations seems akin to clutching at straws. All human resources have been exhausted, so we might as well look to a divine one. That is the antithesis of the Christian understanding of prayer. Our prayer of intercession arises out of a life lived in relationship with the one who initiates prayer in us, and desires to hear our prayers: a perfectly loving Father who wants to provide for his children. Prayer of intercession is essential to our way of life. It is not a cul-de-sac where we end up, having explored every other avenue. It is important to understand that Christians believe we are praying to someone, not an abstract ‘something’. We are not seeking to extract some sort of benevolent reward from the universe, but rather to accept the dignity of engaging with the divine will, and become participants in the activity of God in the world. We are in fact seeking to unite ourselves with the will of God: “Thy will be done,” being essential to Christian prayer, as opposed to - as is often said - “My will be done”. It follows, then, that in order to continue to pray as Christians we must recognise the need for humility and trust. Anyone who prays will know that prayers are not frequently or obviously answered in the ways that we might desire or expect. We are brought face with the fact that, as we are told in scripture, God’s ways are not our ways. We are confronted with the limitations of our own sight. But if we persevere in prayer (as I hope and pray many of those who have begun to pray will do) we shall find that our trust in God is strengthened and our love for him increased. Our intercessor, of course, is Christ. He entered into the world for that purpose, so it is to Him that we offer our prayers (in the power of the Holy Spirit). Christians may also seek, and should seek, the intercession of other members of the Church family, on earth and in heaven - the name we give for them is “the saints”. Continued overleaf ... 3 (continued from previous page) It can only be good to have others praying to the Lord on our behalf. It is good to have friends in both low and high places! So, in conclusion, do not be downcast or demoralised by what you may perceive to be the weakness of your prayers. Remember, the one who hears them knows all our weakness - indeed, He became as weak as a baby in order that the power and life of God might fill us. With blessings and prayers, Father Keith, Vicar THE DIOCESE OF CHICHESTER New Bishops of Lewes and Horsham On 29th April, 10 Downing Street announced the names of the new bishops of Horsham and Lewes to serve as suffragan bishops in the Diocese of Chichester. The Revd Ruth Bushyager, currently Vicar of St Paul’s, Dorking in the Diocese of Guildford will serve as Bishop of Horsham.