General Chat

Good morning :-)

I know exactly what you mean Vera and it is something which is often said by members of various congregations. You are fortunate that you have an attentive vicar where you live - they seem to be few and far between up here! :-(


It's a day out for me today - it's my birthday and my family are taking me out - I know not where exactly but just to be with them will be worth it!



The coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to each of us in a special way – that is for the good of all………


Lord,
by the light of the Holy Spirit
you have taught the hearts of your faithful.
In the same Spirit
help us to relish what is right
and always rejoice in your consolation.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.


Cx :-)

Another interesting week of posts Cynthia, thank you.

I am keeping Tabitha in mind and am glad she has a bit of a breathing space. I hope something will turn up for her very soon.

As I have probably mentioned before I am not a regular church attender but I do keep an eye on our local church. Far from struggling, it has a vicar, assistant priest, lay reader, 3 lay elders and 3 church wardens. Although regular services have necessarily had to be online during the pandemic, the church has been open for 6 hours every day for private prayer. You are just asked to leave your contact details in a book.

The two best priests I have known are the vicar mentioned above and the vicar of the church in a village where we used to live. Both seemed able to relate easily to people from all walks of life and both were regularly seen out and about in the community. I am convinced it was because both men had come to their vocation later in life and had worked in "real life" (for want of a better phrase) for several years first. Perhaps it should be compulsory for all would be priests to spend 2 or 3 years in a factory or office. Just a thought.

Good morning :-)


Churchwardens are a Godsend Gwyn. They have a lot of responsibility for so many different things. We have a silly system of 2 churchwardens who are responsible for 7 churches. One has stood down, so we now have just the one lady. It's a ridiculous situation.



The coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to each of us in a special way – that is for the good of all………

….. To others he gives the power to do miracles, to prophesy, to speak different kinds of languages.


O Lord, from whom all good things come:
grant to us your humble servants,
that by your holy inspiration
we may think those things that are good,
and by your merciful guiding may perform the same;
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.


Cx :-)

We don't have any clergy at present, being in an interregnum, but the church wardens are very welcoming.

Cynthia,
Thank you.
You always give us something so meaningful to think about.

Good morning :-)

Dermot, we too are suffering in a similar way. Our clergy seem to have retreated behind the battlements and are, apparently, unable to greet the people whom they are meant to be serving. We are fortunate with the RC clergy though. They have stayed awake and alert during the last 12 months and that has been noticed! :-D


The coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to each of us in a special way – that is for the good of all. ….. To others that one Spirit gives gifts of healing.


Lord, holy Father, giver of health and salvation,
as your apostles anointed those who were sick and healed them,
so continue the ministry of healing in your Church.

Grant your healing grace to all who are sick, injured or disabled,
that they may be made whole.

Grant to all who are lonely, anxious or depressed
a knowledge of your will and an awareness of your presence.

Mend broken relationships, and restore to those in distress
soundness of mind and serenity of spirit.

Grant to the dying peace and a holy death,
and uphold by the grace and consolation of your Holy Spirit those who are bereaved.

Grant to all who minister to those who are suffering
wisdom and skill, sympathy and patience.

Amen. :-)

'Deafening Silence'.

Our local clergy must have taken a vow of silence. No 'hellos' any more.

Greetings are a thing of the past.

A dodgy speaking clergyman plus a useless amplification System leaves the sparse congregation wondering - whatever happened to the printed Newsletter? :-S

Good morning :-)



The coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to each of us in a special way – that is for the good of all. To some people the Spirit gives Faith.


Faithful Father, help my faith to grow as I am reminded of your faithfulness that never fails. Help my faith to grow as I look to the cross and see Jesus breaking the chains of sin and death. Help my faith to grow as I look to the empty tomb and see Jesus rising triumphantly from the grave. Help me to move mountains in faith. In the name of Jesus Christ, all things are possible. My faith will grow as a response to your love and mercy. Help me to trust you with every part of my life. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)



The coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to each of us in a special way – that is for the good of all. To some people the Spirit gives a message of Knowledge

Holy Father, you who are all-knowing and wise, teach me your ways. I want to have knowledge and understanding. I seek your insight so I can walk in the path you lay before me, knowing right from wrong, protecting against temptation and deceit. Fill me with your knowledge, O Lord, so I may walk in the straight and narrow path, in faithfulness to follow you. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

A bit of a breather then Tabitha? Hope you get sorted.

I know that hymn kandj - it usually gets repeated several times. Thinking back, my school song was Non Nobis Domine and I can still sing most of it. I think. :-D

Must get a move on, I have visitors today as my brother-in-law and his wife are come - it's the first time I have seen them since my husband's funeral as they live near Cambridge.




Yesterday was Pentecost Sunday – the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to each of us in a special way – that is for the good of all.
To some people the Spirit gives a message of Wisdom

Lord, I long not for the wisdom that leads to power or fortune but the wisdom that leads to faith and love. Help me find wisdom in Your faithful promises. Let them encourage me as I seek and follow Your direction and completely focus on the life You desire for me to have. Amen.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

A bit of a breather then Tabitha? Hope you get sorted.

I know that hymn kandj - it usually gets repeated several times. Thinking back, my school song was Non Nobis Domine and I can still sing most of it. I think. :-D

Must get a move on, I have visitors today as my brother-in-law and his wife are come - it's the first time I have seen them since my husband's funeral as they live near Cambridge.




Yesterday was Pentecost Sunday – the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to each of us in a special way – that is for the good of all.
To some people the Spirit gives a message of Wisdom

Lord, I long not for the wisdom that leads to power or fortune but the wisdom that leads to faith and love. Help me find wisdom in Your faithful promises. Let them encourage me as I seek and follow Your direction and completely focus on the life You desire for me to have. Amen.


Cx :-)

Good morning all - Just a flying visit -
I managed to get a four month extension at work - so have a little more time to get myself sorted out - hopefully the area i have been helping out in for the last year will extend my time with them.

I hope so its a lovely friendly team and i do so enjoy working at home. A lot less stress than the commute to work and having to put on a smiley face in the office when you feel you just want to get your head down and not talk.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers

Keep well and safe everyone <3 <3 <3

Good morning all - Just a flying visit -
I managed to get a four month extension at work - so have a little more time to get myself sorted out - hopefully the area i have been helping out in for the last year will extend my time with them.

I hope so its a lovely friendly team and i do so enjoy working at home. A lot less stress than the commute to work and having to put on a smiley face in the office when you feel you just want to get your head down and not talk.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers

Keep well and safe everyone <3 <3 <3

I wonder how long kandj resisted singing her favourite Pentecost hymn. There was a Churches together combined service in a nearby town today and that hymn was sung by the leaders. So hard to be a spectator and not be able to join in too.

That's interesting Vera.
I wonder how school hymns are chosen and decisions made to adopt them

Our school hymn was Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation.

I don't know that hymn kandj. I shall have to see if I can find a sung version of it so that I can hear the tune. I am sure there will be a recording on YouTube.

One of my favourites is Breathe on me, Breath of God and that was on Songs of Praise today. I am also very fond of the following as it was our school hymn and sung the first and last day of every term, not just at Pentecost

Gracious Spirit, Holy Ghost
Taught by Thee we covet most
Of Thy gifts at Pentecost
Holy, heavenly love.

Carry on taking care and staying safe everyone.

Hello all

LOVE Pentecost Sunday, made even more special seeing a few other visiting relatives in church today.

My favourite Pentecostal hymn. Still not singing yet

Spirit of the living God
Fall afresh on me.

Spirit of the living God
Fall afresh on me.

Melt me, mould me. fill me, use me.

Spirit of the living god.
Fall afresh on me.

Happy Pentecostal Sunday. Stay safe everyone.

Good morning :-)

Today is Pentecost Sunday – that special day when we remember the coming of the Holy Spirit. It is also known as the birthday of the church.

The Collect (special Prayer for today)

God, who as at this time
taught the hearts of your faithful people
by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit:
grant us by the same Spirit
to have a right judgement in all things
and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort;
through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour. Amen.


Cx :-)

Hello all

A thought provoking subject this week. Thank you.

Vera. I'm sure that your family are all very proud of your young granddaughter and her caring ways.

Thinking of Tabitha and her search for employment, whilst coping with the loss of her Mother in Law.

Praying for the people in Southern Asia who are suffering because of the global pandemic.

Remembering too the people of Israel and Palastine, who are experiencing terrible violence. We give thanks for the cease fire and pray that this will hold fast.

Good morning :-)


So true Vera........this final post on dementia says so much.


End of Dementia Week

Many people with dementia, especially those raised in religious households, benefit from attending services and having home visits. Connecting with their faith and faith community may bring peace, hope and some sense of familiarity. They can often take part in age-old rituals and celebrations and enjoy hearing favourite music and readings.

Some aspects of faith that may bring comfort are:

Music: Even a person not able to converse with caregivers may quietly sing the right words to an often-repeated and much-loved spiritual song or hymn.

Prayers : Listening to or reciting prayers, especially those often-repeated or memorized in earlier years, can connect an individual to faith, memories and a sense of the familiar.

Readings: Bible readings also provide prompts to reconnect to the faith memory. Reading is a skill a person with a progressive dementia like Alzheimer’s Disease maintains for a long time.

As a footnote......I recently read of a priest who had gone to sit and pray with a dying colleague. Although the dying man could not manage to say 'please' or 'thank you', he was able to say 'Amen' at the end of each prayer. Such is faith.

Lord, help us, as a church family, to be always aware of the needs of those around us. Amen.

Cx :-)

I think there is quite a lot of evidence of how music helps people with dementia and it was certainly the case in our family. My brother made up a few CD’s of all our father’s favourite songs. When Dad was getting “worked up” we would quietly start one of the CDs and within minutes Dad would have calmed down and be singing along. He also would remember every word of the lyrics even though he couldn’t remember what we had said 5 minutes earlier.

Music is such a great gift.

Hello all

Heavy rain and a cold wind again so far today.

Thank you Cynthia for this week's postings for Dementia Week. A real food for thought.

"There but for the grace of God, go I"
(John Bradford)

I am blessed to still have a good memory and not be in the same unfortunate/unpleasant situation as so many others.