The Parish of Compton

Sunday 5 July 2020: The Fourth Sunday after Trinity

Dear Friends,

We have the benefit of two brilliant pictures from Jo Dix this week, illustrating the Gospel passage for the week from Matthew. You will find them in the text of the reading as part of the simple liturgy for use at home. It is a passage worth pondering, and Jo’s picture of the weary traveller is a very insightful commentary. Jesus offers release from the burdens of a religion which oppresses ordinary folk with rules, regulations and guilt: instead of an oppressive yoke, Jesus offers a way of life which is no less disciplined but inspired by his hallmark of the positive energy of love for God and neighbour.

For those who wish to join the Zoom service this Sunday at 6.00pm for Evensong, we have a guest whom Jenny knows well. He is Bishop Jack Nicholls, formerly Bishop of Sheffield, and in that role he ordained her as a deacon and priest. Bishop Jack will be sharing with us in the light of his experience some reflections on the contrasts of North and South as they affect the nation and the church. You are welcome to join: if it is for the first time, please email the Parish Office at [email protected] so that we know to send you an invitation and link to join the Zoom meeting.

This past week the annual act of remembrance around the Lochnagar Crater was held. The Crater, which is in the area of the Somme in France, was the site of a massive explosion on 1 July 1916 during the First World War. It is now owned and looked after by Richard Dunning as a place dedicated to peace and reconciliation, as well as remembering the fallen. This year the ceremony was held online, because of the virus, and it centred around the commitment to wage peace rather than war. To find out more about The Lochnagar Crater Foundation and its vision, and ways to support Richard in what he rightly considers as a form of witness, please visit www.lochnagarcrater.org.

We are developing our plans for worship over the next few months as the church building reopens for public services. At the time of writing we are awaiting the final guidance over the restrictions and precautions required. Thank you to those who have responded to the survey earlier this week about your intentions and preferences. We will finalise and send details to you early next week (6 July), but in broad terms we expect to: • continue to provide the simple liturgy for use at home (you can use it any time!); • carry on with Zoom services, some streamed from the church and others Zoom only; • hold one service per week in the church building.

In our prayers this week, please remember in particular those who are patiently waiting to hold marriages or baptisms at St Nicholas. It has been a tough time for them, and for several it means the regret of putting off ceremonies for up to a year. We remember also: Our Community: Residents of Fowler’s Croft, Hog’s Back, Hurtmore Road, Mark Way, New Pond Road and members of the congregation who live outside the parish; Our Parish: Compton Village Hall Committee; Compton Little Theatre – members; Other Churches in Godalming Deanery: St John the Evangelist, Farncombe; All Saints, Grayswood; St Peter’s, Hambledon.

With our good wishes and prayers for you and your households The Revd Julian Hubbard The Revd Jenny Lee Simple liturgy for use at home We remember that we share this worship with the whole church Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with us all.

We ask for forgiveness Father, we have sinned against heaven and against you. We are not worthy to be called your children. We turn to you again. Have mercy on us, bring us back to yourself as those who once were dead but now have life through Christ our Lord. Amen.

May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Psalm 95 O COME, let us sing unto the Lord : let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving: and show ourselves glad in him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God: and a great King above all gods. In his hand are all the corners of the earth: and the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands prepared the dry land. O come, let us worship and fall down: and kneel before the Lord our Maker. For he is the Lord our God: and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

Song of Ezekiel I will take you from the nations, ♦ and gather you from all the countries. I will sprinkle clean water upon you ♦ and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness. A new heart I will give you, ♦ and put a new spirit within you, And I will remove from your body the heart of stone ♦ and give you a heart of flesh. You shall be my people, ♦ and I will be your God. Ezekiel 36:24–26,28b

Reading from Scripture As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.” Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. Let anyone with ears listen!

‘But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market-places and calling to one another, “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.”

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon”; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.’ At that time Jesus said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:7-30

We pause for a moment’s reflection on the passage, looking perhaps for something that strikes us for the first time, or something familiar which appears in a new light We declare our faith We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love. We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high. We believe in one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Collect O GOD, the protector of all that trust in thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us thy mercy; that, thou being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal: Grant this, O heavenly Father, for Jesus Christ's sake our Lord. Amen.

We intercede for the needs of the world and the church Make your ways known upon earth, Lord God, your saving power among all peoples. Renew your Church in holiness and help us to serve you with joy. Guide the leaders of this and every nation, that justice may prevail throughout the world. Let not the needy be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor be taken away. Make us instruments of your peace and let your glory be over all the earth.

We add our own prayers, especially for those whom we seen or noticed during the past week, in person, or on the news, or by hearing through a friend:

The Lord’s Prayer OUR Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. Amen.

BENEDICTUS BLESSED be the Lord God of Israel : for he hath visited and redeemed his people; And hath raised up a mighty salvation for us : in the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets : which have been since the world began That we should be saved from our enemies : and from the hand of all that hate us. To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers : and to remember his holy Covenant; To perform the oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham : that he would give us; That we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear; In holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life. And thou, Child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest : for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people : for the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us; To give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death : and to guide our feet into the way of peace. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son : and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be : world without end. Amen.

God of our pilgrimage, you have led us to the living water: refresh and sustain us as we go forward on our journey, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.       The Bells……..

In 1995, when John Fellows was rector of Compton, a new organ was built, the bells were augmented and a small ringing room was constructed. Perhaps, back in the day, you were one of the many parishioners and local ringers whose splendid efforts led to the creation of this room and to the purchase of four new bells. Maybe you have visited the ringing chamber, seen the six ropes and noted the clock up on the gallery above.

Higher up still and hidden from sight are the bells themselves. The two heaviest, the five and the six (the tenor), were made in Chertsey in 1634 and 1660. They pre-date the clock and their original clappers are displayed on the gallery. A Victorian bell was removed in 1995 (it’s now installed at Priddy in Somerset) to make way for the new quartet, which come from Eindhoven in the Netherlands. They were cast in 1995. The lightest bell, the treble, is dedicated to the memory of Charlie Poyntz.

What had ringing been like for Charlie and his fellow band members? For some years a stalwart trio stood side by side on a narrow platform with their backs to the congregation and their noses almost touching the wall. It always looked precarious. Worse still, the frame structure up above in which the bells were set was unstable and prone to much movement. Philip recalls that it rocked about as if it was on a ship. Needless to say, the bells were very difficult to control and perhaps it is not surprising that the tower had been silent for many decades before Nigel Nicholson came to Compton.

The bells that we hear from the tower today are in the key of C# and are made of an alloy known as bell metal, a form of bronze that is particularly resonant. However, as these bells are comparatively light, the sound at Compton is still relatively soft to the ear. The nine ringers in the current team inhabit a cosy enclave; it has been likened it to a club room! Limewashed walls, seating areas, light paintwork and dark wood. The striped sallies (the furry bit at the end of the rope) are coloured in gold, wine red and green, a theme that is picked up around the room in small touches. Last but not least, there’s an artificial bat in the belfry called Don!

If you are interested in joining the team in the future, do get in touch with Philip Gorton on 01483 420763 or [email protected] Sally Gorton