St John's Church
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The Parish Church of St John Walsall Wood St John’s Church the Heart of the Wood Outreach The Parish Magazine of St John’s Church The Parish Church of St John High Street, Walsall Wood, Walsall, WS9 9LP 01543 372284 or 01543 360558 email: [email protected] www.achurchnearyou.com/walsall-wood-st-john Worship at St John’s Sunday 8 am Holy Communion 9.30 Sung Eucharist and Sunday School and Crèche Or Family Service (normally 2nd Sunday) Or Morning Worship (normally 4th Sunday) 6.30 pm Evening Worship Or Sung Eucharist (normally 2nd Sunday) Or Celebration Praise (normally 4th Sunday) Wednesday 10.15 Holy Communion with St John’s School 12.00 Prayers for Healing and Wholeness Thursday 12.30 Holy Communion Welcome 2019 What’s so important about the Trinity? ‘We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Essence.’ (Athanasian Creed). On Trinity Sunday we will celebrate God as one God in three Persons. This understanding is based on how we see God at work in the world. We trust in a God who is: ‘God the Father, source of all being and life, the one for whom we exist; God the Son, who took our human nature, died for us and rose again and God the Holy Spirit, who gives life to the people of God and makes Christ known in the world’ (CofE Baptism Service). The Trinity provides a model for Christian community. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit relate together in a love relationship of mutual accountability with one another. They complement and build on the work of each other. At His baptism, Jesus the Son is obedient to His Father, who declares His approval as the Spirit anoints Jesus for ministry. ‘The Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’ (Luke 3:22). To what extent does the life of our church reflect this? We also find our mission in the Trinity. Jesus said, ‘As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ (John 20:21). As the Father sent His Son into the world, so Jesus sends us out to do the Father’s work, equipped by the Spirit of God. How are we called to share in God’s mission ourselves? If we live with a renewed awareness of the Trinity, our spiritual lives will deepen, our vision of God’s mission will expand and take on a new vitality. For more on the Trinity see page 17 Sri Lanka Easter church bombings More than 250 people were killed following Easter service bomb attacks against churches in Sri Lanka. “The scale of the horror takes our breath away,” says Release International. “But terrorism can never overcome the central truth of the Gospel – Christ is risen. Please pray for our brothers and sisters in Sri Lanka and wherever Christians face violence around the world.” Around 2m Christians live in the Buddhist-majority nation where Christians from Buddhist and Hindu backgrounds face discrimination for their faith. The growth of Christianity in Sri Lanka since 1980 has met with violent opposition from Buddhist extremists. Persecution has intensified since 2012, coinciding with a rise in Buddhist nationalism. Militants have burned churches and attacked Christians. In many cases, violent mobs have been led by Buddhist monks. Christians say local government officials and police do little to prevent the attacks – and are sometimes complicit in them. Anti-Christian violence has abated somewhat since 2015, when President Maithripala Sirisena came to power, pledging to uphold religious freedoms guaranteed in the constitution. Sudoku Answers can be found at the rear of the magazine Word Search Word Search - St Columba - June 2019 This month the Church remembers the Irish monk who first brought Christianity to Britain in around 565. He was St Columba, and he left Ireland with 12 companions to settle on Iona, a tiny island off Mull, in the Western Highlands. Iona had been given to him for a monastery by the ruler of the Irish Dalriada. Columba’s biographer, Adomnan, portrays him as a tall, striking figure of powerful build and impressive presence, who combined the skills of scholar, poet and ruler with a fearless commitment to God’s cause. For as well as building his monastery on Iona, Columba also converted Brude, king of the Picts. A prayer of St Columba runs: My dearest Lord, Be Thou a bright flame before me, Be Thou a guiding star above me, Be Thou a smooth path beneath me, Be Thou a kindly shepherd behind me, Today and evermore. Amen Church mull ruler Columba monastery fearless First tall converted Ireland striking dearest Companions powerful bright Settle impressive flame Iona skills guiding Tiny scholar star island poet 'Arry's Bit Hello Folks, my sister attends a small church on the outskirts of Shrewsbury. Every month a group of its members meet to share a meal together and have a guest speaker. A few weeks ago they had a lady who spoke about the work of the ‘SGM (Scripture Gift Mission) Life words', formerly known as the 'Scripture Gift Mission Naval and Military Bible Society'. During the First World War, each person taking part was presented with a pocket sized copy of St John's Gospel in their own language, they were given to soldiers, nurses, and in fact anyone connected in any way with the conflict. There are four hymns printed in the back of the booklet complete with music, these enabled Chaplains to conduct complete services in the field. At the back of the testament is a decision form, which if the reader wished - they could fill in. All too often, when a soldier was killed in battle, this form in the testament was the only way of identifying him. The booklet was designed to fit in the front pocket of their uniform and had rounded corners to prevent creasing. Amazingly the society distributed forty three million items of scripture during the war. To mark one hundred years since hostilities ended in World War I, the Society have printed a replica copy of St Johns Gospel, the speaker handed a copy to each member of the group at the meeting in the church. Knowing my interest in the First World War, my sister asked if she could have a copy for me, this she handed to me just before Easter. When I received the testament I didn't realise at the time what a significant part it would play as I prepared for Easter. Easter was a little different for me this year. As I opened the testament randomly it fell open at chapter 16 with Jesus telling his followers he would be leaving them in a little while and foretelling the events that were to come. Just after I had read this story, I began listening to an excellent dramatisation on the radio of the events leading up to the crucifixion of our Lord. I found myself transported into the activities on the road to Calvary and sharing the anguish and disbelief of his followers as he was betrayed, tried most unfairly, humiliated and suffered on the cross. I shared the fear of those watching. It was an amazing experience. The play on the radio finished at this point and along with those at the foot of the cross, I felt at a loss as the one we loved was taken from us. I reflected on these events and a few days later picked up the little pocket sized testament again thinking I will read about the crucifixion to see if the portrayal in the book matches that on the radio. It did in deed, I continued reading and found myself sharing the wonderful news of the resurrection and hearing the joyful shout “We have seen the Lord”. It was not difficult to imagine myself in the garden along with them. I then had a few moments when I wished I could still take an active part in the Easter activities, just as I used to do - I certainly miss my church work. My mind thought of words Nigel said to me when he came to visit me in the early days of my illness and I was having a moan about being unable to carry on as normal. He gently put his hand on my shoulder and said “Harry you have served the church for over fifty years, it’s now time for the church to come to you”. I replied “you may be right but I still wish I could do it. A few days later I opened the little book again, this time it opened at John chapter 18 and the verse that caught my eye was verse 18 “very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go”. It may only be a small book but it is full of mighty powerful words. Harry Jackaman Do join us for our Harvest Family Service on Sunday, 14th October at 9.30 am. Hot Dogs, Bacon Sandwiches and Pizza after the service. Everybody welcome. Please sign the list at the back of Church during September. The Tank Man of Tiananmen Square The Tank Man of Tiananmen Square in Beijing made world headlines – and became an iconic image of the twentieth century – 30 years ago, on 5th June 1989, when he temporarily halted a column of tanks by standing in front of them on the morning after a massacre in the square.