The cartoon is from Bob for all of us who zoom regularly or might be felling zoomed out.
Not much is the way of a blog this week because I am preaching tomorrow and it has taken rather more thinking than usual to prepare – I got rather involved in looking for useful images to base it around to pep up the ZOOM presentation. The Rector, Caspar, an ex farmer had a picture of himself standing in a field of a crop he had grown himself amongst other things – but me in a classroom sorting the wheat from the weeds was not a suitable notion.
There were children in my top junior classes who were really clever, some who were a bit naughty, some who were instantly likeable and some who did their best to be a thorn in my side but never once did I divide them into wheat and weeds, good seeds and bad. All of them had something positive to offer and those who struggled, struggled with good reason from parents with drug problems, to bereavement and abuse. In my 25 classes of children there were was not one child I thought might be a seed planted by the enemy. There were plenty of times, however, when I felt that the children had something of the devil causing lapses in behaviour. Bad behaviour does not equal a bad child. Thankfully God does not think about us like that either……
But tomorrow’s sermon does not talk about teaching, well it does not at the moment. but it does have Banksy, statues and dandelion clocks.
Link to the service on YouTube in case you want to hear the sermon 🙂
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On Wednesday afternoon I attended the first ZOOM train the trainers session of the new online ZOOm C2 safeguarding leadership course…… the second part is this week. It is interesting and I suspect will cause some deep debate and strong feelings one way or the other.
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Monday’s Solomon’s Portico….. where the Readers meet was as interesting as always and covered a real range of issues from the most boring jobs we had ever had, through stories of life at sea to lay vs ordained ministry and the future of church in a post Covid world.
This week Kathy has something for us about Episcopal Consecration to discuss – see the post below this one.
I did wonder whether any Readers who can’t make Monday mornings would like an evening meeting…. just let me know a good night if you do.
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Prayers: There are a number of Readers who need our prayers at the moment- let me know if you would like the list or if you know of anyone who should be on it.
Blessings and best wishes
Jim
Some prayers for tomorrow and the week ahead:
The Costa Blanca Anglican Community always provides thoughtful prayers each week: https://costablanca-anglicanchaplaincy.org/prayers-and-intercessions/
http://www.richardeinerson.com/july-19-2020.html
Sunday 19th July 2020, 6th Sunday after Trinity
Generous God,
you have created such a beautiful world,
fruitful and bountiful beyond our needs –
and yet we sow it with the weeds of selfishness and greed,
and spoil it for one another.
Strengthen those who strive
for fairness and justice, care and love
to be hallmarks of our shared life;
especially those who work
for the wellbeing and flourishing
of our children.
Bless The Children’s Society
in all their work to end hunger, poverty and distress in families,
especially as the school summer holidays approach;
may they encourage and enable all our young people
to be nurtured, cherished and fulfilled,
in the love of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
