End-to-End The Parish Magazine of Rivenhall and Silver End 75 Years since VE Day Saturday 9th May Originally the village along with the rest of the country was going to celebrate VE day between the 8th and the 10th of May with Street parties etc in the end Jackie Alan piped for the village on the green at 2 pm on the June 2020 50p Our Services June 2020 Unfortunately in accordance with Government Guide- lines the Church is unlikely to reopen for socialy dis- tanced services before the 4th of July I have so many lovely pictures of Animals from all over but I know no- body can resist an Alpaca not even Charlie who was absolutely beside himself when he saw these on our walk at Aberton Reservoir Church Contacts Priest-in-Charge Rev. Paul Watkin 01376 583930 [email protected] Churchwarden Ann Clarke 01376 514825 Churchwarden Peter Hope 01376 502605 Rivenhall Contact Carole McCarthy 01376 512781 Silver End Contact Ruth Aitken 01376 583846 Rivenhall Website www.stmarysrivenhall.co.uk St Francis Silver End Website www.st-francis.org.uk/ Rivenhall Website www.stmarysrivenhall.co.uk St Francis Silver End Website www.st-francis.org.uk/ Some early summertime thoughts from your Team Vicar Summer has arrived! And as I write for June, though we're still in May at this moment, it feels as the though the summertime has actually arrived early judging by all the lovely weather we've been having recently. But I hope that by the time you're reading this, that the current trend in our weather has continued and that we can all continue to enjoy some of what the season brings. But as a footnote to my opening paragraph, and at the risk of possibly sounding somewhat repetitive, please do keep yourselves safe in whatever you're doing, and as a minimum follow all official advice surrounding social distancing and so on. You may also consider that you ought to be erring further on the side of caution, depending upon your own and your family's circumstances. We continue to live in a situation which may further evolve at unexpected tangents, and we'd probably all do well to keep this in mind. As our public worship in church buildings continues to remain on hold, it's important that though we're separated by distance we can still have a sense on being in prayer with one another. I'll therefore continue to broadcast services from my home each week which I commend to you to take part in if you're able to. Just head over to the Parish of Rivenhall & Silver End Facebook page every Sunday at 2pm to take part; and if you do miss one week, then you can also catch up by watching the videos later if you would like to: www.facebook.com/parishRHSE I'll also continue to send out regular updates by way of email which vary in exact content but frequently contain readings, a sermon, and other information which you might find interesting. If you would like to receive these and haven't so far, or had them forwarded on to you by another person, do get in touch if you'd like to be added to the email distribution list at: [email protected] For those people who don't have their own internet access, as of this month the magazine will again be printedbut if you prefer to read the online version pleas let 1 Peter Hope (01376 502605) know as he can then reduce the print run. I'd imagine that most people have by now found many of the other ways of being and doing 'church', but don't forget to check out what continues to be broadcast on the TV and radio (or the wireless!). Plus don't forget that there's a free of charge Church of England telephone worship phone line called 'Daily Hope', which was launched at the end of April and which operates 24 hours a day. The service offers music, prayers and reflections as well as full worship services from the Church of England – all at the end of a telephone line which can be reached by dialling: 0800 804 8044. This year, Pentecost just crept into May, but there are still a few dates of note in June this year. The 7th of the month is Trinity Sunday and this is a special day for a number of reasons. Firstly it's the one Sunday of the year (some might suggest day) when we're wholly invited to think about God as Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Or to use a more contemporary description: Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. God who lives and moves in complete love and harmony; the three persons of God's self who gave us the universe including our home world and it's abundance of life, who draws us close into relationship with God's self by having become human and becoming the fulfilment of redeeming love. And through whom we pray and connect with God's self and one another by way of faith, word, and sacrament. When we give this even a little thought we very quickly catch a glimpse of how wonderful our relationship with God has the potential to be, and what it can bring to enrich our lives; something to truly celebrate. Then on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday (the 11th), as it does every year, the church calendar celebrates the feast of Corpus Christi. This is a unique occasion outside of Holy Week to give thanks for the sacrament of Holy Communion; or the Eucharist as it universally known. Under normal circumstances many of us share in this together at least on most Sundays, but it's also wonderful that we have a particular day on which the focus is simply the sacrament itself with a special opportunity to give 2 thanks for it. As an interesting footnote, did you know that the word 'Eucharist' actually means 'thanksgiving'? As the month of June progresses, we then remember the lives of no less than 4 other people of significance to our faith. Barnabas – companion of St Paul on the 12th, the birth of John the Baptist on the 24th, and finally the ministries of St Peter & St Paul on the 29th. Each of these people played an important role by either preparing the way for Jesus' own ministry in the case of John, or in case of the others in bringing the good news of our Lord to others, and each of these people should be celebrated. But to think about two of these: When Simon-Peter exclaimed that Jesus was the Christ, Jesus replied in saying that Peter came to this realisation by it being revealed to him by God, and that he would be the rock upon which the church would be built. (cf: Matthew 16:16-18). As you'll probably know, St Paul's coming to the understanding as to who Jesus is was quite different. Saul as he was then known came from the Pharisee tradition, and zealous for his faith. Indeed we're even told that he asked the High Priest for letters to allow him to arrest any whom he found professing faith in Jesus as the Son of God, that he might bring them bound back to Jerusalem – presumably (as he saw it at the time), to stand trial for perversion of the faith (Acts 9:1-2). But on the road toward Damascus, he had a life-changing experience when he encountered the risen Lord Jesus. In time Saul became known as Paul, and though he was never one of Jesus' twelve disciples during Jesus' ministry on earth, Paul earned the title of the 'apostle to the gentiles' as a result of his life-long committed ministry to proclaiming the gospel. In other words, it was Paul who most notably initially took the good news of a relationship with God through Jesus, to the non-Jewish population in the near-eastern parts of the ancient world. Hence the letters which he wrote to the new Christian committees, often ironing- out difficulties which arose, which make up so much of the New Testament. The two 'rocks' of St Peter and St Paul in the early church leave us with a good example to follow. They listened to the voice of God through Jesus in their own lives and went on to bring the good news of the love of God to the people whom 3 they then encountered, guided by the Holy Spirit. God, who is in relationship with God, through the love of the Holy Trinity; the wonderful relationship thought about above, and which we're invited to participate in today. But as a final thought: the month of May has seen me spend time catching up with more people by way of phone calls and email once again, and as ever, I'm always delighted to hear from any of you too; whatever church you usually worship at or wherever you live. So do get in touch over the coming month if you'd like to – whatever the reason. As a reminder, my number is: 01376 583930. Paul Watkin. The 50/50 Club May 2020 winners 1st C Vandyke 2nd B Hagan 3rd P Hope ************************************** From the Registers April / May 2020 *********************************** Collects and Readings June 2020 7th June Trinity Sunday Service Cancelled Readings Isaiah 40:12-17, 27-End 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 Matthew 28:16-20 Collect Holy God, faithful and unchanging: enlarge our minds with the knowledge of your truth, and draw us more deeply into the mystery of your love, that we may truly worship you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.