Trinity 13
TRINITY 13 Hymns 381, 205, 298, 388
FIRST READING Exodus 3.1-15 Moses was keeping the flock of his
father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the
wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of
the [Lord]{.smallcaps} appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush;
he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses
said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the
bush is not burned up.’ When the [Lord]{.smallcaps} saw that he had
turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’
And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then he said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the
sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy
ground.’ He said further, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his
face, for he was afraid to look at God.Then the [Lord]{.smallcaps} said,
‘I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard
their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their
sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and
to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land
flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the
Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the
Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also
seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh
to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.’ But Moses said to
God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out
of Egypt?’ He said, ‘I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for
you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of
Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.’But Moses said to God,
‘If I come to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your ancestors
has sent me to you”, and they ask me, “What is his name?” what shall I
say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I [am
who]{.smallcaps} I [am]{.smallcaps}.’ He said further, ‘Thus you shall
say to the Israelites, “I [am]{.smallcaps} has sent me to you.” ’ God
also said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites,
“The [Lord]{.smallcaps}, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you”:
This is my name for ever,
and this my title for all generations.
PSALM 105. Response: Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
O give thanks to the Lord and call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples.
Sing to him, sing praises, and tell of all his marvellous works.
Rejoice in the praise of his holy name; let the hearts of them rejoice who seek the Lord.
Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his face continually.
Remember the marvels he has done, his wonders and the judgements of his mouth,
O seed of Abraham his servant, O children of Jacob his chosen. R
Then Israel came into Egypt; Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
And the Lord made his people exceedingly fruitful; he made them too many for their adversaries,
Whose heart he turned, so that they hated his people, and dealt craftily with his servants. R
Then sent he Moses his servant, and Aaron whom he had chosen. Alleluia. R
SECOND READING Romans 12.9-21 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
GOSPEL Matthew 16.21-28 From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’ Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? ‘For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.’
NEWS FROM ST MICHAEL'S
A very warm welcome to any new readers, and to visitors and newcomers to St Michael's. A special welcome and thanks to Fr Paul Matthias, our celebrant this morning, who will also kindly be saying Mass for us on Thursday at 10.30 am. If you are new to St Michael's, do join us in the Vestry Hall after the service, so that we can welcome you properly.
And welcome to our newly-decorated Vestry Hall! This represents a considerable investment of time and energy by several members of the congregation, and also generous help from Trevor Gatehouse and from Mr Dowling of Travis Perkins. Thank you, everyone!
Confirmation: It's not unusual for adults who missed out on Confirmation when they were younger to decide that the time has now come to take this important step in their Christian lives. If you are one of these, please speak to Fr Paul – there will be a Confirmation class that you can join this month.
Why do we….? Fr Paul will soon be providing a chance to discover more, or refresh our memories, about what we believe and how it is expressed and embodied in what we do in church. If you might like to be part of a group exploring this aspect of our faith, please speak to Fr Paul about it. If you are thinking of becoming a server, please speak to him about that, too – we need more servers!
This Saturday, September 9th, 10 am – 4 pm, is a Heritage Open Day. We want our local community – and visitors from further afield – to enjoy the lovely Angel Windows in this listed building, and, God willing, to get a sense of the beauty of holiness as St Michael's tries to show it. Thanks to Martyn and Paul, the bunting and banner are already looking inviting. We need volunteers to bake cakes/biscuits, make tea and coffee, welcome visitors and act as stewards, answer questions, and sign-in the Ride and Stride participants – including Catherine - who will be doing their sponsored walk or cycle-ride on the same day in aid of the Friends of Kent Churches. Can you bake, brew tea on the day, or just provide a friendly presence for people who may not often visit a church? This is a precious opportunity to develop our community links and to encourage more people to get to know St Michael's - and what it stands for. Please sign the green list of helpers at the back of church – and, if you are kindly planning to do some baking, try to have a word with Alison Ponter, who is kindly co-ordinating the refreshments.
Ride & Stride on September 9th will number Catherine among its Riders. Please look for the yellow form at the back of church if you would like to sponsor her. Her Riding (around as many participating churches as she can on the day) will benefit the Friends of Kent Churches, but there is a welcome rake-off for her parish church as well. Do give Catherine your support.
Also on 9th September, 11.30 - 2.30 : Wendy Blackshaw of The Wendy House plans attractions including a bouncy castle, Princesses' Tea (pre-book only for a small charge) and stalls. Further details from Wendy (07788 180631). Meanwhile in church, Sara is kindly running a free Heritage Open Day children's activity – it will be a good day to invite friends with children to come and explore St Michael's!
Safeguarding for the young and vulnerable is an important area of our church life. PCC members in particular have the duty of ensuring that our diocesan safeguarding policy is carried out, and that everyone is encouraged to contribute to a culture that supports it. PCC members (and others with positions of responsibility), your safeguarding certificates last for 3 years – might you need to renew one? If in any doubt, speak to Katja. But we shouldn't leave it just to the PCC – the brief online courses entitled Basic Awareness and Foundations (each one takes about 90 mins to do) can be found at https://www.canterburydiocese.org/safeguarding-training/ and are open to everyone interested. Why not open an account and explore?
Cathedral Passes: After an interval when they seemed to stop working, Cathedral Passes are now once more available to members of any church in the diocese. A pass entitles you to unlimited visits to Canterbury Cathedral and its grounds during opening hours, and if you sign up to the mailing list you will be kept informed, often before the official announcement, of forthcoming services, events and activities at the Cathedral. Please see www.canterbury-cathedral.org/cathedral-pass [ ]{.underline} for details.
This Sunday we see the beginning of the Season of Creation, when Christians are encouraged to give thanks for, and show concern for, God's creation. A variety of information and resources can be found on https://seasonofcreation.org/resources/ - an invitation to consider what we can do to share the earth's riches more fairly, to do something to improve our local environment, or even just to look appreciatively at our own gardens and make them a welcoming place for other creatures besides ourselves.
From Our Tower: Kent County Association Maidstone, Kent:
St Michael and All Angels, Friday, 25 August 2023 in 43m (6–1–24 in C) 1320 Fawley Surprise Minor
- Emma Jarvis
- Jacqueline Barlow
- Philip Jarvis
- Mark Elvers
- Pam Thomas
- Neil Jones (C)
Rung on the Saint's Day of Louis of France, 1270.
Could you pass on this sheet to someone else who might like to see it?