Covenant prayer
This week we again have both zoom and video options for worship at South Bristol. In both there is a chance to say the Covenant prayer, affirming your commitment to follow God in the coming year, and also to think about 'a Methodist way of life.
Dear all,
this week we again have both zoom and video options for worship at South Bristol. In both there is a chance to say the Covenant prayer, affirming your commitment to follow God in the coming year and also to think about 'a Methodist way of life'. The video has been prepared by and is led by Rev David Alderman, (the Circuit Superintendent) and is available any time: and I'll be leading the service on zoom on Sunday morning. A printed version of the prayer we will be using is attached.
If you want to find out a bit more about A Methodist Way of Life do click on this link to find out more: A Methodist Way of Life
This week (18-25th January) is the week of prayer for Christian Unity, and our reading this week is taken from materials prepared for this time. Do pray for other denominations and for all churches to draw closer to the ways of Christ, including our own.
And finally there is a chance to pray for any needs you would like to bring and for the church and wider issues, at lunchtime on Monday 12.30-1, either come and pray in silence or out loud as we join in with words from the Northumbria Community to frame our prayers. On zoom!
“See, I am doing something new”, says the Lord. “Now it springs up: don’t you see it? I am making a way in the wilderness, and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43.19
News and Worship Sheet 17th January 2021
Welcome to this edition of the news and worship sheet for Totterdown, St Peter’s, Knowle and Bedminster Methodist Churches.
If you would like to receive this sheet and the SBMC video or access to our online worship by email, please contact me. The videos and livestream are also available on our website, southbristolmc.org.uk and on youtube at SouthBristolMethodistChurch.
John 15.1-17
Jesus said: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.”
Reflection
When I was a student and for a few years afterwards, my parents lived in Hampton, in Middlesex, and when I stayed there we often went to Hampton Court Palace just down the road. In its gardens there is an enormous and very ancient grapevine, the oldest in the world. It was planted in 1768, takes up the whole of a very large glasshouse, and the ground underneath is regularly fed with manure to keep it in good condition. It is now four metres (13') around the base and the longest branch is 36.5 metres (120'). It regularly produces a crop of around 272 kg (600 lb) grapes which are sold in the palace shop. Every now and then a new glasshouse has to be built to accommodate its growth; the last one was built in 1969.
It’s obvious that if you cut a branch off, the branch would wither and die. And yet connected to the main plant, with roots deep in the nourishing earth, the vine is still flourishing and producing fruit, 250 years after it was planted.
It’s a good image for the church; one that reminds us that we need to keep our links with the source of our faith and our life, Jesus Christ. It also reminds me that we are not a static organisation, nor are we independent. We rely for growth and life on keeping connected to Jesus, through prayer and through each other. Each one of us is like a small twig, capable of producing fruit – the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control. The covenant promise which we make every year strengthens that essential link. This year when many of us have felt 'laid aside' or that God has asked of us more than we are capable of, the promise seems more relevant than ever, as we draw on his strength to do what seems impossible to us.
A vine cannot remain the same, but only survives by growing, receiving food, adapting to new circumstances, and changing. Let’s pray that this year we see true growth – that we keep connected to Jesus and to each other – and that the church we are part of flourishes as we adapt to every new situation.
This reading has also been chosen as the reading for the Week of Christian Unity, which runs from 18th-25th January this year. It makes sense that if we stay close to Jesus, we also stay close to each other. Let’s pray for the local churches around us and other Christians we know; and for the church across the world. Who do you know who follows Jesus in a different denomination or another part of the world? We almost certainly have more local and international links than we realise, and we are all branches of the same vine.
Rev Sally
Prayers
Please see the separate sheet for our Covenant Prayer. In saying this, though you may be on your own at home, you are sharing with others across South Bristol Methodist Church, and with Methodists and other Christians across the world.
We also pray this week for people in our congregations who work in care homes or for the NHS: Janet and Carol; Jean and Sheila; Edna, Charles and Martha; Susie and Ruth. May God strengthen and protect them, bless their families, and may others see God’s light through them.
Many people are missing Holy Communion, as with a few exceptions we haven’t been able to share the Lord’s Supper together since September and before that, March. However we can take a tip from the Armenian Orthodox Church. In Armenia, which has been a Christian country since the 6th Century, bread (usually flatbread, similar to naan or pitta bread) is literally broken and eaten with every meal. An Armenian Orthodox priest I know once told me that whenever they break bread, it is an opportunity to remember Jesus and his death and resurrection. Good advice.
News
Back in April we had a short piece on the video from Steve Bagshaw, a local preacher in Huddersfield who since April has been working on the Government’s task force for vaccine production, because of his role as CEO of a biotech company in the north east of England. I was delighted to hear he has been awarded a CBE in the New Year honours list, for his services to the biotech industry. There are, indeed, many ways to serve God. Congratulations to Steve.
Bristol Children’s Centre says a big Thank You for the gifts from People at SBMC Totterdown and St Peter’s which were distributed to the families at Christmas. One mum said: “Thank you so much for the gifts, my son is over the moon, he can’t stop dancing around. You guys are so kind, it’s brought tears to my eyes.” 535 gifts were given out across East Bristol and Broomhill to children from 261 families.
Local church leadership teams met last week, and the SBMC leadership team met on Monday 11th, to look at the way forward and make suggestions for Church Council in February. Do pray for these meetings. These are challenging times for all churches, but I am really encouraged by the way you keep in touch and support one another. May God continue to inspire you and give you energy!
And finally: some good advice on prayer: Keep it honest; keep it simple; keep it going……….
Rev Sally Spencer
Minister of South Bristol Methodist Church @ St.Peter's, Allison Road, Brislington; Redcatch Road, Knowle; Bushy Park, Totterdown; British Road, Bedminster.
"What does the Lord ask of you, but to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God" Micah 6.8
Which superpower would you choose?
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.’
Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone.”
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, ‘I will give you all their authority and splendour; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.’
Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”
The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down from here. For it is written:
‘“He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”
Jesus answered, ‘It is said: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
Luke 4. 1-13 New International Version
One of my favourite children’s films is ‘The Incredibles’, a cartoon which tells the story of a family who all have superpowers, but who have to pretend to be ordinary to fit in with society. Mr Incredible has superhuman strength, mum - aka Elastigirl - is fantastically stretchy, Violet can make herself invisible, Dash runs fast and the baby, Jack-Jack, can shape-shift and occasionally bursts into flames.
Children and even adults long for superpowers which would help them to escape from the limitations of being human!
And this is exactly what the devil offers Jesus in this story: the ability to magically turn stones into bread; the power and glory of earthly authority; and finally the power of protection from physical danger - from the limitations of his earthly body.
With these superpowers, Jesus could surely not only save himself but also the world, in true superhero style. But this would have been a contradiction of everything that Jesus set out to do by coming to earth as a human baby. Jesus knew that truly saving the world cannot be accomplished in this way.
The storyline of The Incredibles and other superhero stories – Batman, Spiderman, and all the others – depends on the use of violence and power to beat violence and power – and it is always only temporary. Sooner or later, the world needs saving again, as evil reappears in a different form.
It is necessary sometimes, to confront violence with violence, something we can see in the current war in Ukraine. But ultimate victory over evil and violence can only be accomplished by transcending the rules of this particular game.
Jesus saved the world for all time, through peaceful self-sacrifice, and defeated the ultimate power of death. The battle still continues, but future victory is assured.
And in our own lives, though we don’t have the superpowers we would love to have, let’s rejoice that it is through weakness and trust, not in strength and self-sufficiency, that God can work in and through us. Rev Sally
John 20.24-29
One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”
Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”
“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.
Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”
It struck me reading the story of Thomas this time that Thomas was nothing if not sensible in wanting evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. This year above all other years we’ve seen the importance of ‘following the science’ and Thomas was, perhaps, not the first but an early scientist.
Today, just like 2000 years ago, there are plenty of scams and fake stories and rumours out there to test our credulity. A year or two ago someone sent me a video clip on Whatsapp about a ‘resurrection’ in South Africa, with a sharp suited pastor calling on a man in a coffin to sit up – which he did, and a miracle was announced. Checking on the news websites I learnt, not to my surprise, that the whole thing was a fake – the man had been told to lie down in the coffin and was far from dead!
Rumours about vaccines: side effects, offers of vaccines you can pay to get before your turn comes, join the huge numbers of pension scams and other types of fraud wating to catch us out which have mushroomed in the last year. It is as well to be cautious and look for evidence before believing unlikely stories or offers that seem too good to be true – they probably are!
Thomas wants evidence. Jesus doesn’t dismiss his scepticism, but provides the evidence he looks for. 2,000 years later, of course such evidence isn’t available to us, so we have to trust the accounts of those early disciples and the witness of Christians down the centuries. For such faith, Jesus says, we are blessed.
Sometimes, of course, people use the lack of concrete proof of God’s existence as a good excuse not to believe. There will never be unshakeable proof, but there is pretty reliable evidence for those who are open minded.
We can trust the gospel stories – but let’s not be gullible and believe everything we read or watch!
Rev Sally
Touch the earth lightly
This Lent we are joining the Bristol Methodist Circuit to focus on our response to the climate crisis.
A good place to start is the book of Genesis:
Genesis 1.23-2.3
Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.” And that is what happened. God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
So God created human beings in his own image.
In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”
Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened.
Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!
And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.
So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.
(New Living Translation)
The book of Genesis is full of deep meaning. It tells us that creation was made with a purpose and a plan, and that it started as something good. I was interested to see that in David Attenborough’s most recent documentary series, he also looks back to a time when the world was ‘perfect’. With all the world’s current imperfections, so many of them caused by humans, we still have a sense of how our world is meant to be.
One aspect of this story that has been misapplied over the centuries is the idea that humans were given the job of ‘reigning’ over the animals. We have taken it to mean we can use everything for our own benefit – but of course a good monarch’s first concern should be the welfare of his or her subjects. We have also forgotten that we are not only responsible for nature but also part of it, something that this passage makes clear. We too were created along with the world and the plants and the animals.
The principle of rest is also an essential part of creation – something it is easy to forget in a 24/7 society.
We have been given a beautiful world to look after, something we can see signs of as the spring is on its way, even in the dreary days of February. Let’s do everything we can to care for it. As God said, ‘It is good!’
Rev Sally