O be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; serve the Lord with gladness, and come before his presence with a song.
Be assured that the Lord, he is God; it is he that has made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise; be thankful unto him, and speak good of his Name.
For the Lord is gracious, his mercy is everlasting, and his truth endures from generation to generation. (Psalm 100, BCP2019)
Psalm 100 is such a lovely Psalm, and we will read it together on Sunday. In these days where we are surrounded by so much pain and uncertainty it is so good to sit in the reminder to ‘be assured’ that God ‘has made us’ and that ‘we are his people’ and 'the sheep of his pasture'.. Sit with that for a moment….There's something so restful about being a sheep with a good shepherd.
And now, what's been happening?
I was so delighted that so many of you were able to stay for the Parish Meeting last Sunday. For those of you that missed it, here’s a link to the slides which will tell you some of the story. PLEASE feel free to reach out to me, Eric or Ben with questions.
Next - onwards! What’s new?
Sunday Morning @9.30am: Wild Wonder Sundays in the Park for families... but now !!!!NEW!!!! We are extending this opportunity to all adults who would like to come and do morning prayer together. If you want to join in, grab your BCP and a Bible, maybe a journal, a rug or chair, a mask, a bottle of water and head to Alcova Heights Park. While the kids are given their focus for the morning, we will gather in small groups and pray together. This is not going to be a time for formal prayer. There will be no sermon or communal singing. But there will be time to pray together, to read scripture together and to enjoy doing so in the beauty of nature.
Sunday 5pm: At 5pm, join us for zoom church either from the comfort of your sofa, or !!!!NEW!!!! with the option of zooming with a small ‘house group’ - sign up here! And, have you got your pre-consecrated wafers for communion? If not, reach out to Beth or me.
Prayers of the People: has had a makeover: !!!!NEW!!!! we will continue to use breakout rooms over the summer! When in these rooms it can be tempting to pause and chat, but can I urge you to use your 3 minutes (plus one minute countdown) to pray? And then linger after the service to chat! In the POTP we are continuing to pray our way around the world - this Sunday our country is Argentina - why not check out the news there and come with something to pray about?
Summer Small Groups: These are coming together !!!!NEW!!!! Normally, we suggest you relax over the summer, but as this summer looks a LOT different to any summer any of us has experienced in the past, perhaps you will want to jump into either a stay-in book club or a get out and about hiking group! Or both? There will also be other occasional book and movie nights over the Summer - as well, of course, as our Thursday community nights… watch out for jam making, discussing global poverty (tonight), retro worship night and so much more… And, of course, you can always join us for the daily office on Tues (noon), Wednesday (7.30am) or Thursday (nooon).
And finally, make a note about decisions you need to make and then - pause, exhale and now please pray with me the collect we finished noonday prayer with today:
42. FOR THE HUMAN FAMILY (BCP2019, p659
O God, you made us in your own image, and you have redeemed us through your Son Jesus Christ: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(NB: If you are a regular Incarnation attender and you don't have a personal copy of the BCP ask me for one!)
Got questions about God? Or Our life together? Or almost anything? Text me and let’s plan a conversation time!
And now - back to work!
~Liz