This week's News

Thank you to our lovely Preschool who have given us the important task of keeping their sunflowers alive until they return in September.

Simon was out watering them for us today - thanks Simon.

They are starting to open up and look beautiful!

 Thanks to Deacon Vincent for his Reflections on the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

1st Reading from the book of Exodus 16: 2-4, 12-15. Exodus is the story of God and God’s people, who are first freed from oppression in Egypt, who are then formed into his chosen people in the desert. God is the prime person who is in dialogue with the people of Israel, with Moses caught between the two. Exodus is quite clear that there is only one God, and this is made abundantly clear by God’s victory over Pharoah. The title is Greek and means “going out”, or “exit”. Our extract takes place after they have come out of Egypt and are wandering in the desert. They have a shortage of food and start to complain against Moses and Aaron. God instructs Moses to tell the people that it was a test to see if they could walk in God’s Laws, so God sends quails who must have been migrating and came down to rest, which enables the people to catch and eat their meat, then in the mornings they could go out and collect a fine powdery substance which will suffice for bread and sustain them until such time as they come into areas where food can be harvested. It was called “manna” a corruption of “man hu?” meaning “What is that?” It became “bread from heaven”. This reading sets the theme for today, feeding with bread from heaven, the Eucharist is the way Jesus will interpret the giving of himself to us, as our sustenance for the journey of life. The Bread of Angels.

Psalm 77: 3-4, 23-25, 54. This psalm is an instruction on learning from the history of God’s people. It is a thumb nail sketch the happenings of the people of Israel with God. This selection is highlighting God feeding the people in the wilderness. This is an instruction to trawl through Holy Scripture to constantly remind ourselves of the greatness and caring of our God.

2nd Reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians 4: 17, 20-24.
Here Paul is instructing us how to behave within the Body of Christ, his Church. We are to put off the desires that surround us and encourage us to participate in. The world has little to offer compared with following God’s way which will guide us to goodness and holiness in the truth. Our model is Jesus who illustrated and taught us how to behave. We need to go from Gospel to life, and life to Gospel, a constant toing and froing till we become more Christlike.

The Holy Gospel according to John 6: 24-35.

This starts with the people asking Jesus when he came to this place? If you remember, Jesus had just run off to avoid being taken and made King. He scolds them for only looking for a free handout of bread, the bread that does not last. Work for the food that endures to eternal life, the kind of food that the Son of Man is offering. Then there is this demand for a sign! God gave our fathers bread from heaven to eat, what sign can you give so we should believe in you? Now Jesus has brought them to the point that he wants to teach them about the coming Eucharist. “It wasn’t Moses who fed the people but God”, says Jesus. Then he explains that the bread God gives comes down from heaven and brings life to the world. “Give us that bread always “, they clammer. This is where Jesus has wanted to bring them to this amazing statement, “I AM the bread of Life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst.” This startled them, and Jesus will be disappointed at the way a lot of his followers found this intolerable language. Jesus with the “I AM”, is adopting the position of God. That was astounding for Jews to hear and throws them into confusion and disbelief. We have the benefit of the whole Gospel in our hearts so the full import of this moment flows over us without the shock waves this statement would bring.

God, Our Father, grace us to always trust and believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Deacon Vincent

Congratulations to all the wonderful children within our Parish who celebrated the sacrament of communion.

Congratulations to all the wonderful children within our Parish who celebrated the sacrament of communion.

The children enjoyed a beautiful First Holy Communion Mass after a year of hard work learning more about our Faith.
Thankyou to all the families for supporting the catechists in guiding the children in their next step to becoming adults within our Church. It was lovely to see such excitement and they all participated perfectly in the readings, the offertory procession and in singing so joyfully.
We continue to offer our prayers and support to our young people as they continue to grow in faith.

Beautiful Photos, with thank, by Stewart Clark Photography
https://scphotography.co.uk/

This week's news

Thanks to Deacon Vincent for his Reflections on the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

1st Reading from the second book of Kings 4: 42-44.
What we call “books” in the Old Testament, are in fact “scrolls”, and not necessarily written at the same time. Books of Kings continues the story of Israel. Elisha was Elijah’s disciple and continues God’s work in guiding the people of Israel. In this passage Elisha receives a gift of twenty barley loaves and fresh grain in the ear. Elisha instructs the servant to give it to the people. The servant is incredulous, how can this meagre portion feed one hundred men? Elisha insists that the Lord said, “Give it to the people to eat, and there will be some left over”. The servant does as he is told and indeed there is food left over. We are witnesses to a multiplication of loaves 600-560 BC. Much as some modern theologians like to discount miracles such as this. The people accepted these happenings without any hesitation. Maybe we might show the same respect and realisation that God is not bound by our restrictions.

Psalm 144: 10-11, 15-18.
A psalm of God’s greatness and goodness. God opens his hands to fill every living creature with pleasure. God enhances gifts to embrace those whom God wishes to bless. The Psalmists all have respect and are sure that God is not bound by human restrictions. We need to learn more about God’s ways and trust fully in God’s love for us.

2nd Reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians 4: 1-6.

We continue our reading of St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Paul re-emphasises the unity that we should have through the same Spirit in all of us. We need to strive for unity of faith and knowledge as Sons of God. Marvel at the wonder of humanity, and grow into fulness in Christ Jesus, so that we are no longer infants, but fully fledged adults not tossed by the storms within the community, or carried here and there by every breeze or idea, and be aware of the craftiness of human beings, and avoid anything that could lead us away from the Lord God. Paul’ whole life is centred on oneness with Christ Jesus, as the antidote of every evil. We might try and emulate his faith.

The Holy Gospel according to John 6: 1-15.
This episode of the feeding of the five thousand is also in all the Synoptic Gospels. The Old Testament is reflected in the New Testament and vice versa. We have an almost identical story of how Elisha fed the crowd, slightly smaller than Jesus’ crowd. But still the same effortless way that the men of faith can ask the Father to bless the small offerings and multiply them to feed the people who had gathered around God’s chosen ones. Jesus, like his Father is a good Shepherd and will feed his sheep. All three readings today are steeped in Eucharistic significance. Paul insistence of our oneness in Jesus, Elisha feeding the people around him at God’s request, and the same with Jesus, ensuring that his followers will be fed. No one goes hungry, unless they wish to. God open handedly gives in abundance to those who hope and trust in Him. The crowd will mistakenly wish to make Jesus King at this feeding, but we shall see at the end of his life Jesus is indeed king, but not in the sense that they understood.
God, always bless us with that bread from heaven, especially at the end of our Lives.
Deacon Vincent.

This week's News

NEW FOOD BANK INITIATIVE, together with school & pre-school,

our ‘Community Kitchen Cupboard’ is now up & running!

(The 'C.K.C.')

This informal, free service is for anyone in our community who might be struggling or just needs a bit of extra help ~ please, just come & help yourselves from the shelves.

As you can see from the video, come on into the entrance of the church which is open each day (even if the door is shut, please try it, as it is usually unlocked from approx. 8.45am-4pm, or later on days where there is evening Mass) including during the summer holidays.
The Community Kitchen Cupboard is at the end of the entrance area - take a bag and take what you need for you / your family.

Also, if anyone is in a position to donate tinned & packet items for the CKC please leave items in the box at the bottom of the cupboard for our team to sort out and label.

We have loads of pasta and tins of beans/veg/pulses/soups etc at the moments but would love some more toilet rolls, tea, coffee, lunchbox snacks such as individual biscuits or dried fruit boxes etc, tinned or packet desserts (rice pudding / custard etc) and sanitary items.

We hope this will be a useful initiative for our community and we would welcome any helpful feedback and offers to join the team of people checking and re-stocking on a rota basis each day.

Cream Tea Time
"Sunday 14th July, a notably busy day for many between Glastonbury pilgrimage, children’s celebrations and THAT game on TV! Yet 30 or so people from our parish community and beyond came together to enjoy home baked scones, clotted cream, jam, home baked cakes, hand made crafts and enjoy a quiz for which Mike Ryan’s answers were not always 'the final answer'!
All these treats, food and joy lead to a healthy £348.12 for our parish projects - Brandon Trust's Playlinks scheme in South Gloucestershire and Little Sisters Of The Poor's new lift and call alarm system in their residential home."
Tim Johnston.
A big thanks to the team who put this lovely afternoon event together and to all who supported it.
Look out for more events coming soon!

Thanks Deacon Vincent, for your Reflections for Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

1st Reading from the prophet Jeremiah 23: 1-6.
In this passage Jeremiah is trying to instil hope into the desperate Exiles in Babylon. There had been a series of cataclysmic rebellions against Babylon, which had resulted in the destruction of the Temple and major parts of Jerusalem and the leaders and prominent people together with craftsmen were deported. People were in despair, and God has prompted Jeremiah to say that the Shepherds of the people of Israel had failed to listen to God’s warnings and had encouraged the people to adopt pagan ways and practices. But God is saying that they must retain hope, for there will be a restoration, and a return to Israel for a remnant; then Jeremiah is filled with God’s inspiration and proclaims the coming of a Messiah, of the House of David, who will fill the land with righteousness. We are not sure who Jeremiah had in mind, but early Christians immediately equated this passage as referring to Jesus. But we make a mistake in thinking of prophecy as foretelling the future; when in fact, it is, that prophets reveal the way in which God operates. When the early Christians looked back into scripture to see how they could understand the Jesus narrative, that is what is meant by “prophecy”.

Psalm 22.
Here we have the most well-known of the psalms, the beautiful description of God as the Good Shepherd. Christians immediately saw Jesus reflected in this psalm, which is natural as he is God’s only Son. We continue God’s theme of how a shepherd of God’s people should behave. God make us holy as you are holy.

2nd Reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians 2: 13-18.
This reading points to the centrality of Christ, in uniting Gentile and Jew in his risen body. By his death and resurrection, Christ has united us all. Christ makes a tangible difference to all our lives. Through him we have through the one Spirit been given a pathway to the Father. This passage is a theological vision of the work of the Eucharist within our Communities. We are all united in Christ Jesus. Jesus is the Good Shepherd that God envisaged for the restoration of God’s Holy People.

The Holy Gospel according to Mark 6: 30-34.

The Apostles return to Jesus filled with joy and excitement of what they had done and taught. It is one of the most joyous occasions in Jesus Ministry to realise that his Apostles really could carry out His Mission. Jesus now knows that the Gospel will be proclaimed after he is taken from us. Look at his concern for their welfare. You must rest, come away to a lonely place and recoup. We follow this practice when we seek a quiet retreat. It is important not to overwork ourselves for we become vulnerable to the temptations of the wily one when we are exhausted. But the people guess where they are going, and they dash round for more from them. But it is Jesus who takes up the baton and teaches them, allowing his Apostles some respite. We encounter the loving and caring Jesus in this Gospel passage and once again have a picture of what a Good Shepherd we have in Jesus. Jesus cares about our welfare and in his Gospels, he leaves an image of how he has become God’s special Shepherd who is always at hand to look after God’s sheep (all of us) and guide us to the Father.

God grant us the grace to follow Jesus more closely and so come close to you.
Deacon Vincent