It’s Trinity Sunday! God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit! Three in One and One in Three! Holy, Holy Holy! Join us in church or online for Sunday morning worship. All welcome!
9:30am – St Bartholomew’s – Meltham (can be joined via YouTube) 9:30am – St James’ – Meltham Mills 11:15am – St Mary’s – Wilshaw (can be joined via Zoom from 11am) 11:15am – Christ Church – Helme
Welcome to the June edition of the #Meltham parish magazine. Thank you to all those who have contributed, it really does help to make it YOUR magazine. This month we look back over the recent years of the Crossroads Project and the wonderful work they do. We continue our feature on how a hymn or song is helpful to express your faith and Pam gives an honest account of her road to confirmation.
We continue to include the Daily Readings and Prayers, it can help in our daily prayer life and either start or finish the day focusing our heart.
The next issue will be a summer bumper issue hopefully full of exciting submissions. The next deadline for our DOUBLE ISSUE will be Friday 18th June. Please send your submissions via: melthamparishmagazine@gmail.com or via the vicarage letterbox (150 Huddersfield Rd, HD9 4AL).
When we do come to God. Or when we return to God. Or when we receive Holy Communion and hold that broken piece of bread in our hands. Or when we hear a passage from scripture that moves us. Or when we see in each other a love that holds and sustains us. And when we know we are loved, the only real response is silence.
There is a place beyond words, where the heart rests in peace, in the knowledge of being known and loved.
Not all of us experience such love in our lives. Some of us have been very damaged by life’s injustices. But the love we receive from Jesus, the love that is from God, is secure. It is waiting for us the other side of words. We only need to turn.
PRAYER
Loving God, our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you. Hold me, for the storms are raging and the waves crash over. Be my rest and my security. And even though human touch and human love is so beautiful and so longed for, help me to know today that it comes from you and, like everything that is good and beautiful, will return to you in the silence of your eternal and never changing love. Be with me as I hold myself and hold others in your embrace.
2 PENTECOST
Receive the Holy Spirit. In the Bible there are two accounts of how God gives us the Holy Spirit. First, the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, today’s celebration. But in John’s gospel, on Easter day itself, with the disciples locked away like so many of us have spent the last year locked away, Jesus breathes on them and gives them the Spirit. (see John 20.22)
Both stories have important things to say, but this year, with all the challenges we face, and knowing what lockdown has done to us and how many of us have slipped from the practice of our faith, I am holding onto a picture of Jesus coming to each of us and breathing his life and goodness into us. “Receive the Holy Spirit,” he says. “My spirit of peace.” And then He sends us into the world: praying for others and serving them in the name of Christ.
PRAYER
Overflowing God, breathe the spirt of Jesus into me and into all those who long for peace, especially those who have drifted from your way, got stuck in their faith, or who have not yet found a way to believe. You believe in them. Renew them by your Spirt. And today may your Church be filled with joy.
READING
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. (Romans 5.1-5)
3 FINALLY
If you have worked your way through these thoughts and prayers over the last four weeks and made some notes about how you feel about God and how you make sense of life, and if the promises of God that we receive in Jesus are even beginning to make you wonder whether there is more to life than the things you see around you, and more to hope for than the fleeting promises of the world, then the best way of knowing and following Jesus is in the company of his Church. We’re not perfect. Far from it. We are also followers in the way, working out how best to live this life and trusting in God, knowing how much we need God’s love and forgiveness to keep us going. We are not an organisation looking for new members. We are a company of travellers and explorers who are very glad to have new people help us. We have things to share with you, but you also have things to share with us. Together, we can travel God’s way. And for those of us who are members of a church community let us continue to pray for the work of God’s church both locally, nationally and worldwide.
It’s Pentecost (or Whit Sunday as it used to be known). Join us in church or online as we welcome the Holy Spirit. All welcome!
9:30am – St Bartholomew’s – Meltham (can be joined via YouTube) 9:30am – St James’ – Meltham Mills 11:15am – St Mary’s – Wilshaw (can be joined via Zoom from 11am) 11:15am – Christ Church – Helme
In order to live the way of life we see in Jesus, we need
help. We can’t do it on our own. We can’t manage in our own strength. Who can
we help today by our prayers and example?
As the Church waits to celebrate the coming of the Spirit at
Pentecost, let’s remember that Jesus calls the Spirit ‘helper’.
God knows we can’t manage on our own. Of course, we can’t. After
all, we are made for community with God and with each other. Jesus makes this
possible by uniting our humanity with God in his own person. The Spirit is the
spirit of Jesus, helping us become like Jesus and uniting us to God. All we
need to do is let go of the pride that puts self-first and cuts us off from
God, and in the end from everyone else as well. Overcoming God, make me new in
the Spirit of Jesus so that I can truly become the person I am meant to be. And
today may your Spirt help me help others, especially those who have drifted
from your way, or who find it impossible to believe, or who are trapped by fear
and guilt. Set us free, God. Set me free to be myself. Free to help others.
PRAYER
Overcoming
God, make me new in the Spirit of Jesus so that I can truly become the person I
am meant to be. And today may your Spirt help me help others, especially those
who have drifted from your way, or who find it impossible to believe, or who
are trapped by fear and guilt. Set me free, God. Set me free to be myself God,
make me new in the Spirit of Jesus so that I can truly become the person I am
meant to be. And today may your Spirt help me help others, especially those who
have drifted from your way, or who find it impossible to believe, or who are
trapped by fear and guilt. Set me free, God. Set me free to be myself. Free to
help others.
READINGS
Jesus
said, “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the
Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach
you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.” (John 14.
25-26)
Jesus
said, “ This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved
you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s
friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” (John
15. 12-14)
2– Adore — Ambassadors for Love
The
greatest gift of the Holy Spirit is love. We are most like Jesus when we love
and adore each other, and when we love and adore the world.
Love
is not just romantic love. It is the complete self-giving that we see in Jesus.
This is the love the world needs if we are to navigate a way though the huge
challenges we face.
Following
Jesus, returning to the life of his Church, means being part of this great love
affair. We become God’s agents of change, God’s ambassadors for love in the
world.
However
small or fragile your faith is, most of us have strong feelings of love. They
are from God. Use this love to change the world. One heart at a time.
PRAYER
Quickening
God, fan the embers of my little faith. Help me see that the love I feel for
those I love is from you. It shows me that you are real, that you are love
itself. Be my friend. And today, draw me back into the fellowship of your
church and help others, who also long for love and acceptance, to find it in
Jesus, the one who lays down his life for his friends.
3– CELEBRATE –Give us our daily bread
On
the night before he died, Jesus had a meal with his friends. Breaking bread and
sharing wine, he said they were his body and blood. He was giving them a way of
understanding what his death and resurrection would mean. He was also giving
us, for all time, a way of being nourished by his risen life.
It
is hard to be a Christian on your own. You cut yourself off from this food and
drink. And because faith is not a private thing, but a way of life lived in
community, then we need to nurture this life in celebration with each other.
This is what the church is: the bunch of men and women who know how much they
need each other and need God. Join us. We need you.
PRAYER
Bountiful
God, feed me with the bread of heaven, and give me today the things I need for
today and save me from wanting more than my share. There are so many people who
are hungry for love and thirsting for peace. Help me to help others find their
place at your table.
READING
The
cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The
bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because
there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one
bread. (1 Corinthians 10. 16-17)
God’s
love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so
that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God
but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our
sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one
another. (1 John 4. V 11)
KEEP SAFE
– KEEP ON PRAYING
Peter
PS In earnest prayer pray for Bolton and India in the grip
of variant strains of the Covid Virus.
Pray for or own country as it relaxes the guidelines in selected
areas of our life together.
We ask that people will exercise due caution and keep the world
around them safe.
Join us in church or online for Sunday morning worship. All welcome!
9:30am – St Bartholomew’s – Meltham (can be joined via YouTube) 9:30am – St James’ – Meltham Mills 11:15am – St Mary’s – Wilshaw (can be joined via Zoom from 11am) 11:15am – Christ Church – Helme
Jesus begins his ministry with the word repent (see Mark 1.15) It means turn around. You’re going in the wrong direction. Re-orientate your life.
The whole world needs to hear this message. Whether it is the way we treat each other or the way we treat the planet, we are going in the wrong direction. No one seriously disputes this. The world has to change. But who has the answers? Who do we follow?
Jesus says, follow me and you will be walking in the light (see John 8.12). Jesus gives us a way of inhabiting the world and living with each other that is, truly, the world’s best hope.
It begins by turning around. By following him. The Christian faith is a way for everyone.
PRAYER
Steadfast God, redirect my life and redirect the life of the world. Help us to live in peace with each other and with the planet. And today help me to tread lightly on the earth, praying for others that we may all find for ourselves the way of being human that God shows us in Jesus. Give me the chance to start again. To turn around
2 –OFFER — A new heaven and a new earth
The offer of the Christian faith is the offer of abundant life (see John 10.10). Not a life lived somewhere else, but this life lived to the full; this life lived in the way God intends.
Some people have never really heard this offer. They thought the Christian faith was just a private thing with God, a way of getting to heaven. But God doesn’t just promise life after death, but heaven come down to earth, a better and more fulfilled life now. It starts by turning around. We see ourselves in right relationship with God. That God is the source of life. That we are the ones who have received the gift of life. Acknowledging this, our hearts overflow with thanksgiving. We start to live differently. We follow the way of Jesus. We pray that this way of life will be found by everyone.
PRAYER
Generous God, pour your abundant life into my heart. Help me to live differently. And today may others see and receive this offer of life through me.
Do not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favour and good repute in the sight of God and of people. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3.3-6)
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone.
(1 Timothy 2.)
3–Make your life a prayer
What then should we pray for?
Paul sets the bar of expectation very high. We should pray for everyone. We should pray all the time.
I see it this way. Make your life a prayer. Make your life an offering. Ask God that your life and your prayers, your words and your actions, might make a difference in the world. To follow in the way of Jesus means living a Jesus shaped life, so that all the good things that we see in him can also be seen in us, at least in part.
In this way our following Jesus is more than attending services, or even believing certain things. It is a way of life. A way that makes a difference for us and for the world.
PRAYER
Transforming God, make me more like Jesus. And because I know my life is not like that, show me Jesus today. And change my prayer from asking things for myself to asking you what you would like for me, so that my life can be part of your story. And help me to pray for others, that they may know Christ for themselves.
Join us in church or online for Sunday morning worship. All welcome!
9:30am – St Bartholomew’s – Meltham (can be joined via YouTube) 9:30am – St James’ – Meltham Mills 11:15am – St Mary’s – Wilshaw (can be joined via Zoom from 11am) 11:15am – Christ Church – Helme
Thy Kingdom Come (TKC) is not new. Our new Archbishop of York has written a booklet for this year which is intended for everyone. The booklet is written to be used daily between Accension Day and Pentecost, two weeks. I have broken the material down to cover four weeks and not two. Thus, giving more time and space to be used and reflected on by you, as you will. One sitting for each of the four weeks or using the material sheets daily for each of the four weeks. You might find it helpful to have paper and pen handy for questions and insights you might have.
RENEW US BY YOUR SPIRIT
This booklet is intended for everyone. We all need the encouragement of the basic promises of the Christian faith to help us live the life God gives us to the full. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit every area of our lives: where we can go, whom we can see, how we can worship. In the time between Ascension Day and Pentecost, Thy Kingdom Come is a gift to refresh our faith, especially if we felt isolated from our community or our Church during this difficult time.
I have also written this in the hope that those who don’t know Jesus at all may find in these pages the hope they long for. So, if you are already a follower of Jesus, receive this as a reminder and an encouragement of why and how following Jesus makes a difference to you. Why not think about who you could give a copy to and how you could be praying for those you know who also need the hope of the gospel. And if you are yet to encounter Jesus Christ, my hope is that you will do so in what you read and reflect on in this booklet. Each day there are a few things to read, a prayer to offer and then an invitation for you to make your own reflections on what it means to follow in the way of Christ. You don’t have to write anything down, but you may find it helpful. Don’t worry if this isn’t you. Just ask God to help you see clearly how you can follow Jesus and who you can help. And do this not only with yourself in focus, but also those you know – maybe pray for 5 friends, family, neighbours, colleagues – who live their lives yet to know the love offered to them in Christ Jesus. In these days of hopeful waiting and praying between Ascension and Pentecost, may we all be renewed by the Spirit; made new in Christ.
Stephen Cottrell —Archbishop of York
WEEK ONE — 1 JESUS – Followers of Jesus
The first followers of Jesus weren’t called Christians. That came later. They were called followers of ‘the way’ (see Acts 24.14). This seems like a good place to start: especially at such a dark and difficult time for our world. The Christian faith is a way of life. In fact, Jesus himself says to his friends on the night before he dies, “I am the way”. Jesus shows us what humanity can be like when it is lived God’s way. His kindness, generosity, goodness, and forgiveness are from God. This is what God is like. God welcomes everyone. Life is hard. The way ahead isn’t obvious. And faced with difficulty and uncertainty, God doesn’t send us a rule book or a map. He sends a companion to walk with us: Jesus, the way. And he is not just the way for us – but for each and every person. Let us pray for those we know and love that they may find the way of Christ.
PRAYER
Loving God, when I’m feeling lost or lonely or afraid or uncertain of the way ahead, be my guide, a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. And today help me to be a good companion to those I meet.
READINGS
Thomas said to him, “”Lor d, we do not know w here you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14. 5-6
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God. (Psalm 42. 11)
WEEK ONE–2—PRAISE –the way of abundant joy.
In Christian worship there is lots of praise. Christians often tell God how brilliant God is. What sort of God needs this, is often the response from those who are new to the Christian faith? God must be very insecure, they think. But we don’t praise God because God needs it. We do it because we need it. When we praise God we put ourselves in perspective. We acknowledge that God is the source and origin of everything, even the breath that we’re taking right now. Without God, there is nothing. There is no one who doesn’t need to know that. The way of life which is the way of Jesus Christ is a way of abundant, appreciative joy. Even in the darkest hours, we believe in the light, we praise him. And from the perspective of his light pray for others.
PRAYER
Faithful God, help me to understand myself, so that even in the most difficult times I may know your presence with me and may sing your praises, defiantly praising your goodness even when there is so much that is wrong. And today, help me show others the good things I receive in Christ and show the world His way.
WEEK ONE — 3 –THANKS— expanding the heart
When we stood outside on Thursday evenings in the summer of 2020 cheering the NHS, did we realise how much it would change us? By giving thanks, by praising, we learnt to put the needs of others before our own. We discovered a deep appreciation for those who put their lives at risk to serve us. Thanksgiving expands the heart. We cheered other key workers as well. And who would have thought that the person stacking the supermarket shelves was an essential worker? We learnt that we belong to each other: that my well-being is tied up with everyone’s well-being; that Covid-19 won’t be dealt with anywhere, until it is dealt with everywhere. This is also the way of Jesus, where we learn that we are sisters and brothers, children of one God. Let us pray that the people we know, and the whole world, may find the way of Christ.
PRAYER
Generous God, fill my heart with thanksgiving for all the blessing I receive in life. Expand my heart, and help me love, support and cherish those who serve me. And today help me to live as sister or brother to all whom I meet
READINGS
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. (COLOSSIANS 3:15
Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth. (Hosea 6.3)
