The Benefice of St. Bartholomew

Benefice Summer Lunch - 19th July 2022

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Written by The Rev'd Kate McFarlane

Benefice Summer Lunch

on

Tuesday, 19th July 2022 at 12.30 pm

in

St Leonard’s Church, Semley

Please join us for a free buffet lunch and raffle. Everyone welcome. Please book your place with The Revd Kate, tel: 01747 830 174, or click here to send Kate an email - when the new window opens, click on the ‘Contact Form’ tab to send your message.

From the Rector - July 2022

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Written by The Rev'd Kate McFarlane

Free-For All!

In these unsettling times many of us are increasingly aware of rising prices and financial uncertainty. Anyone who can look at their bill for petrol, oil or the supermarket, without feeling their anxiety levels also start to rise, is fortunate indeed. Demands on Foodbanks are undoubtedly rising. Even by January and February 2022, before the worst increases hit, a 22-percent rise was recorded in foodbank use.

As politicians debate how to respond to the current situation the phrase 'There's no such thing as a free lunch' has been used; and, of course, we're well aware that our need to alleviate the impact of the rising cost of living, is resulting in heated debates about how this can best be done.
Fortunately, Christianity offers something more life-giving and open-handed than the need to balance the books. It is a faith rooted in stories of plenty and generosity. In Christ's company we encounter 5,000 people fed, with 12 baskets left over, or a wedding feast which positively overflows with water turned to wine; and, above all, the universal, free invitation, to eat at the Lord's table.

So let us be signs of that Godly generosity out in our community. Very fittingly, St Mary's Church in East Knoyle is a foodbank collection point. Please do stop by and leave a gift there which will benefit a struggling family. And when you do so, please stop awhile and enjoy the peace, beauty and solace of our church. Our churches in both Semley and East Knoyle are 'free to enter', open every day; and all our Benefice churches offer regular open invitations to come to our Sunday services - no 'Christian qualifications' needed, no regular commitment assumed, no previous experience required. Simply come as you are - No Charge!

And this month we are literally offering a 'free lunch' at St Leonard's, Semley, at 12.30 on Tuesday 19th July - an opportunity to make up for some of the isolation brought by covid and to share food and conversation in a beautiful place. (We ask you to book simply to ensure there will be enough for everyone.)

So please use your churches; come in, you are welcome - it is genuinely 'free-for-all'.

Revd Kate McFarlane

Prayer Cycle and Prayer of the Month - July 2022

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Written by The Rev'd June Lane

Please do continue to make your requests for prayer known to us. Prayer changes things. Contact any of us: The Rev’d June (tel: 01747 828427), Julia (tel: 01747 829166), or Theresa (tel: 01747 829188). There are many of us in need of that extra help and comfort that comes from knowing someone is praying for us.

Your prayers for my dear friend Michael Buckley were so much appreciated by his widow and my Godchildren. Prayer, even for someone whom we only know by name, is powerful.

We all need someone to look to for help and guidance. Here are two simple prayers which may help us this month.

Father, thank you for the thrill of finding something new.
Thank you for the joy of discovering something we didn't know before.
Thank you for the discoveries we make,
about life,
about love,
about ourselves.
Thank you for other people's new ideas,
and all the inventions which add to the joy of our lives. Amen.

Roy Chapman & Donald Hilton

A Prayer of Bishop Richard Harries:

Lord,
You are the deepest wisdom,
the deepest truth,
the deepest love,
within me.
Lead me in your way.