The Benefice of St. Bartholomew

Cream Teas, Cake and Conversation - Sedgehill Church - 24th October 2021

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Written by Tony Gowers

“Come and See”

Cream teas and cake at St Catherine’s Church,

Sedgehill, on

Sunday 24th October 2021 from 3.00 pm to 4.00 pm

Please come and meet our new Rector, The Rev'd Kate McFarlane, over a cup of tea and homemade scone or cake.

Take the time to look around inside our beautiful church and explore the churchyard.

There will be the opportunity to learn ways that you can support our church and church community, to help ensure that St Catherine’s remains at the heart of Sedgehill for the generations to come.

Children very welcome

From the Rector - October 2021

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Written by The Rev'd Kate McFarlane

Come and See

Just a few weeks into my new post as Rector, it already feels a different age from the March morning when, deep in Covid restrictions, I drove from Bedfordshire to Wiltshire to come and see your Benefice ahead of my Zoom interviews the following day. My first stop was St Mary's, East Knoyle where the warmth with which I was welcomed eased my nerves immensely and made me long for the opportunity to come and be the priest fortunate enough to serve such a committed and kind community. My first encounter with my other five churches did nothing to diminish this appealing first impression.

The Bible quote chosen to head your Benefice profile, which was what stirred me to apply in the first place, was the invitation (spoken by Jesus and then learnt from him and repeated by his disciples); 'Come and See' (John 1:39,46). I have always loved this phrase because it conveys such openness and welcome, a warm hospitality without demands or expectations. 'Come and see' who I am and what I can give you, invites Jesus, and we, as his disciples, can in turn make this invitation to others; 'Come and see - who we are and what we can offer you.'

As our churches begin to recover from the pandemic, this invitation should be at the heart of everything we do. We have so much to offer in terms of community, company and pastoral support and, above all, we have a precious message of hope, Gospel hope. However difficult may be the times in which we live, and however gloomy may be the stories we see on the news, we have a far greater story to tell, a 'Good News' story of God's loving, constant and faithful presence with us, of the coming of God's kingdom and of resurrection hope for us all.

So do 'Come and see' more of what our churches are offering and please do invite others so that they too can share in our Good News story. As well as our services, our Harvest Suppers and lunches are a wonderful opportunity for this, but also you are warmly invited by St Catherine's, Sedgehill, to join us on 24th October from 3.00 till 4.00 pm when we would be delighted if you would come and enjoy a cream tea, company and conversation. I look forward to meeting you there - 'Come and See!’

The Rev’d Kate McFarlane

Postscript

And thank you.......

The vacancy in our Benefice put huge demands upon all the Churchwardens and Ministry Team of St Bartholomew's Benefice, especially since it coincided with the unprecedented disruption of the pandemic. We owe an immense debt of gratitude to all who have enabled our churches to continue their mission and worship through this extraordinarily difficult time.

A message of thanks from our Rural Dean, Revd Dr Graham Southgate:

During the vacancy (which lasted almost seventeen months) the home team seemed to cope marvellously well. The presence of June Lane and Jo Johnson has provided a sense of continuity; if I was June, however, I would not wish to be attending any more PCC meetings. Coupled to them has been the calm and supportive presence of some very good churchwardens, which has eased very considerably my oversight role as Rural Dean.

Many, many thanks!

Prayer Cycle and Prayer of the Month - October 2021

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Written by The Rev'd June Lane

Many prayers have been made and many prayers have been answered so keep those requests coming. Contact any of us: The Rev’d June (tel: 01747 828427), Julia (tel: 01747 829166), or Theresa (tel: 01747 829188).

Prayer Of The Month

This Prayer is by Canon Frank Topping and is for forgiveness. I am sure we shall all resonate with this! I certainly did.

LordI
Why is it so difficult,
To make peace with each other?
No wonder there are wars.
Is it pride that holds my mouth tight shut,
A childish feeling
that I am not the one who should apologise?
It wasn't my fault?
In these flare ups
What does it matter whose fault it is?
The only thing that matters is love and harmony.
Lord, turning my back in anger is weakness,
It reduces me as a human being.
Give me the courage,
the stature,
to say I am sorry.  Amen

It is also very much Harvest time here in our villages, and this lovely Hymn/Prayer by Marie Williams is one I have used before, but it is too good not to repeat it this year.
 

For seeds to sow
And open doors
For all of these
And so much more.
I give You thanks.  Amen