Mothering Sunday message

As our Church Council decided to abide by Government advice to avoid religious gatherings we have reluctantly cancelled all church services and other activities until further notice.

However we do not wish our Church to be closed to the congregation and community and so our Pastor Julie Newitt will open the Church each Sunday from 9.30am -11.30 am. Julie will prepare a service and material will be shown on our big screen with background music playing. If you are well you are welcome to attend provided you adhere to hand hygiene and social distancing - reminder notices will be placed in the church.

This morning five people called in to part or all of the open church session.

In addition the prepared service was emailed out to those members of the congregation who have provided their email address.

An excerpt from Julie's message is below

Hello all This really is very strange, I much prefer to talk rather than write but here we go. Every Sunday I will prepare something which will be sent out to you. This will be in place of morning worship. You can take what you would like from it, but I will suggest hymns which you can play using youtube, a mixture of traditional and modern for you to choose from. I will give you Bible readings and make some comments on the readings for you. I will also write a prayer and give you names of those on the prayer list. If anyone would like to be prayed for at this time could you please let me know.

Worship material for 22 March – Mothering Sunday. Bible Readings 1 Samuel 16.1-13 Psalm 23 Ephesians 5.8-14 John 9.1-41 Hymns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98nG3xH02wo I know you are there https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZrvLRgHaVY I stand in awe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf11rReeWIs Take my life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihJAJA4ibEs be thou my vision

Thoughts Notes on the new testament Bible readings.

• When Jesus encountered this blind man, he had an opportunity to help his followers (as well as the man himself) grow in faith. At the time, any kind of disability would have been thought of as resulting from a sin in the family and therefore it brought shame on the man and his relatives. This attitude, as well as his physical limitation, restricted him and stopped him from being the person he was able to be.

• Jesus put mud on the man’s eyes. Jesus used the methods of a traditional healer, preferring mud over medicine. After this, he told the man to wash in the pool of Siloam (meaning ‘sent’) – the name is also symbolic as it signifies Jesus as the one sent by God.

• Once he was healed, suddenly the man could see. For a man who has never seen before, his sight is nothing short of a new creation. As the story unfolds, the man seems to have an increasing strength of faith. He starts by being quite timid and ends up ‘knowing’ that this was Jesus, someone sent by God.

• The readings today demonstrate that seeing opens us up to light and life, as in Ephesians 5 where the life of faith is associated with the shining light of Christ. If God can help us to physically see when we couldn’t before, what other possibilities does he open up for us in the light and life of faith?

Prayers

Lord Jesus As we come before your throne, take away our blindness, Lord. Open our eyes that we might truly see you: our shepherd, our comforter, our redeemer. Amen.

A prayer for others:

Light of the world, we pray for those who suffer prejudice because of any kind of disability – physical, emotional, social or mental: help us to recognise our prejudices and to treat all people equally. Open our eyes that we might see. We pray for all who work for a fairer and more just society, where all can be free to live, no matter what their circumstances. Open our eyes that we might see. We pray for all who walk in darkness, with no light and little hope: may they know the joy that only you can bring. Open our eyes that we might see. Heal those who mourn, suffering loss and sadness; those who are alone, rejected by family and friends; those who are outcasts in our society. Lord, show us how to be instruments of your healing. Open our eyes that we might see. Amen.