Ely Diocesan Prayers May 31

ASHLEY WITH SILVERLEY ST MARY

P.I.C.: Ann Gurner

SSM: Dr Lynne Broughton

LLM: Simon Windmill

Give thanks for our little church, opened every day by Margaret. For our faithful small congregations, here and at Silhaven community centre. For plans for a Caribbean themed church fete and a Teddy Bears picnic this Summer. For our PCC meeting this week and the financial challenges of repairs.

Visit of BVM

Cyprus and the Gulf (Middle East) – The Rt Revd Michael Augustine Owen Lewis

Filed under: Prayer Cycle

Ely Diocesan Prayers May 30

May 30 – June 5 Deanery of Fordham & Quy

Rural Dean: Revd Tim Alban Jones Trinity

Lay Chairman: Mr John Abbott Mikkeli (Church of Finland)

30 For Vocations to full time ministry within the Diocese and all responsible for selection and training and those being ordained this year.

PRAY for The Church of the Province of Melanesia The Most Revd David Vunagi Archbishop of Melanesia and Bishop of Central Melanesia

Filed under: Prayer Cycle

Ely Diocesan Prayers May 29

SHOULDHAM ALL SAINTS AND SHOULDHAM THORPE ST MARY

In Interregnum

Rtd Priests: Robin Blackall; Antony Higton

LLMs: Ann Clarke; Pippa Blackall

LLM in Trng: Moira Saunders

Link: HOPE AFRICA (an initiative of the Province of Cape Town, South Africa)

Shouldham: Please give thanks for the unstinting efforts of the personnel (above) and pray hard for an applicant to these rural parishes in the NE sector of the Diocese.

Shouldham Thorpe: A new priest please for our eight parishes.

St Martin Church of England Primary School, Shouldham

Cyangugu (Rwanda) – The Rt Revd Geoffrey Rwubusisi

Filed under: Prayer Cycle

Ely Diocesan Prayers May 28

FINCHAM ST MARTIN

In Interregnum

MARHAM HOLY TRINITY

In interregnum

Associate Priest: Antony Higton

LLM: Patricia Higton

We give thanks for new initiatives such as a village New Year Service. We ask prayers for growth in depth and numbers.

Cuttack (North India) – The Rt Revd Samson Das

Filed under: Prayer Cycle

Ely Diocesan Prayers May 27

GRIMSHOE GROUP OF PARISHES – NORTHWOLD ST ANDREW

P.I.C.: Joan Horan

ALM: Martin Claridge

As above

The Norman Church of England Primary School

Curitiba (Brazil) – The Rt Revd Naudal Alves Gomes

Filed under: Prayer Cycle

Ely Diocesan Prayers May 26

GRIMSHOE GROUP OF PARISHES – METHWOLD ST GEORGE

P.I.C.: Joan Horan

As above

Duchy of Lancaster Church of England Primary School

The Most Revd Rowan Douglas Williams Archbishop of Canterbury

Canterbury – Dover – The Rt Revd Stephen Squires Venner ; Canterbury – Ebbsfleet – The Rt Revd Andrew Burnham ; Canterbury – Maidstone – Vacant ; Canterbury – Richborough – The Rt Revd Keith Newton

Filed under: Prayer Cycle

Ely Diocesan Prayers May 25

GRIMSHOE GROUP OF PARISHES – HOCKWOLD WITH WILTON ST JAMES

P.I.C.: Joan Horan

ALMs: Chris Parker; Eileen Gillians

As above

Cuernavaca (Mexico) – The Rt Revd Ramiro Delgado Vera

Filed under: Prayer Cycle

Little Gidding Pilgrimage 2010

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Simon Kershaw has kindly supplied some photos of this year’s pilgrimage, which took place on Saturday. The weather was gloriously fine, and a good number of people gathered for the event. (There was overflow seating outside when we got to Little Gidding for Evensong.) You can read a synopsis of my address at the morning eucharist, and also a full text of my substantial sermon at evensong in which i reflected on the Ferrars’ project and Micah’s Challenge to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God. Also in my mind were T S Eliot’s Four Quartets: there is an online text of Little Gidding, and I was happily surprised to hear the Poetry Please reading of the Four Quartets on Sunday (just click here if you have teh BBC I-Player already installed), which includes the voice of Eliot himself.

To find out more you can visit the church website, that of Ferrar House and also one that is being built for the Friends of Little Gidding.

Filed under: Cambridgeshire, Christianity, Events, Ferrar House, Little Gidding, Nicholas Ferrar, T S Eliot

Ely Diocesan Prayers May 24

GRIMSHOE GROUP OF PARISHES – FELTWELL ST MARY

P.I.C.: Joan Horan

We pray for the growth of our Children and Youth Ministry Team as they reach out to the schools in the Benefice; for the weddings and baptisms taking place within our churches; for the newly formed partnership with the Methodists as they join us for worship and fellowship in St George’s; for the Benefice Council as they work to bring our parishes together; for our ordinand, Ken Waters, as he reaches the end of his training and coming ordination as deacon. We give thanks for the continuing work of our PCCs and work groups as they strive towards the success of various projects including sound systems, kitchens, toilets and community areas. We give thanks for all those who support us in their various ways.

Cueibet (Sudan) – The Rt Revd Reuben Maciir Makoi

Filed under: Prayer Cycle

The Teapot of the Spirit

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation (Isaiah 12.3)

Have you ever felt what it is like to run on empty?

So much to do, so many problems, so little time

Not allowed to stop, rest, recharge

Afraid you’ll collapse, not make it

Ready to die?

That’s life

Our human experience

But not life as it is meant to be

We’re like a teapot

Well made

Some good stuff inside

Able to choose where to pour it – usually

Lid safely on

In fact, lid so safely on

That when the precious liquid is gone – it’s gone

And we’re done

No-one can fill themselves up again on their own

Others can help a bit – but it only goes so far

We’re done

Now imagine that’s not the end of the story

That someone far greater than us can lift the lid

Pour in new water

Get us going again

Not just once – but for ever

Streams of living water, flowing in, flowing out

Just like when Jesus was in the upper room

Peace in, peace out; joy in, joy out; Spirit in, Spirit out.

That’s it; that’s what coming to Christ is about

What getting confirmed really is

The trouble is, we don’t always remember to take off the lid

Which makes a mess, not tea.

So – what’s the lid, and how do we make sure it’s shifted?

I’ve talked about how we are wonderfully made

And well filled to start with

The trouble is, we forget the Maker

We grow a sense of self that is self-centred, self-sufficient

Even self-ish

We forget the Maker, or rubbish him, or just try to go it alone

And then, because of course aren’t really the Maker after all

We can’t cope and get scared

We go wrong and get guilty

We try out other ideas and get confused

And so the layers build up

Now perhaps you can see why

When someone gets baptised and confirmed

I ask them to turn again to God

To say sorry

To say they want to give up trying to go it alone

They can’t take the lid off themselves

But know they know again a man who can

And when we ask, he does

And the Spirit comes, and lives in us again

With joy we draw water

from the wells of salvation.

And in that day we say:

Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name

Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things

for great is the Holy One amongst us.

Before we go any further

Let’s pray now

Lids off

Spirit come.

Filed under: Sermons and Talks, theology