Dr Luscombe’s First Sermon at Trinity

This morning, the preacher was Dr Colin Luscombe, visiting Trinity for the first time. He has recently moved from Marlow and now attends Wallingford Methodist Church. He already knew Georgina from High Wycombe.

Before the service began, I announced the sad news that Christina Hutchinson had died. She had been choir mistress since 1988, contributed in many ways to church life, and reached the age of 97. I was steward and, after making that announcement, almost forgot to introduce Dr Luscombe!

People were curious to know whether he was a medical doctor or a scientist - it turned out to be the latter. His sermon focused on the story of Jesus healing the ten lepers, when only one returned to give thanks. Dr Luscombe linked it to the work of a leprosy mission in Nigeria, and spoke about the importance of gratitude — not only to God, but also to parents and others who have helped us. Many in the congregation no longer have living parents.

We didn’t know the second hymn, “Thank you, Jesus, Thank you, Jesus,” but it was easy to pick up. The final hymn, “Give Thanks,” fitted well. After the service there was, appropriately, a lot of thanking going on - people expressing appreciation for one another and the preacher.

Dr Luscombe spoke with many people afterwards. Ruth, whose hearing is poor, hadn’t been able to catch the sermon even though he spoke clearly. I need to try to get her a transcript. Rosemary, my fellow steward, said Ruth had arrived exhausted after walking nearly a mile - a feat for someone in her nineties. Rosemary gave her a lift back.

Revd Georgina's third service at Trinity

Before the service began, the peacefulness of Trinity Church was disrupted by the sounds of banging and grinding from the neighbouring house. This ongoing construction project had been in progress for weeks, and its effects were about to be felt during the worship. The first hymn was I am a new creation.

As Georgina led the congregation in prayer, her voice was joined by distorted pop music. Despite trying various microphones, the only clear audio came from the lectern microphone when Christine did the bible reading. Even the hearing loop was ineffective. Later, it became apparent that the builders were using Bluetooth for their music, and the radio microphones were inadvertently picking up the distorted signal.  The bible reading was Mark 10:17-31, a passage about a young man who sought to follow Jesus but was ultimately hindered by his wealth.

Georgina delivered her sermon from the lectern, ensuring a clear message. 

Georgina emphasized that riches were not the only obstacle to following Jesus. For some, it might be  a relationship, a career, or a habit. Only by having Jesus first in our lives will the message become real and heard through our lives. Jesus calls us to be a new creation, living our lives in and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Before communion Georgina asked us to share the peace as we normally do. It is some years since people have gone about church greeting people with hand shakes and hugs. That's what happened. In the grace of God we stand.

Palm Sunday

Revd Ian played the piano and preached. There were good hymns: Ride on, ride on in Majesty; My song is Love Unknown; To be a Pilgrim. 

Four people enacted the scene of getting the donkey for Jesus. This was where Jesus, in fulfilment of prophecy, rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, symbolising peace and trust. There was confusion between the disciples and the donkey owner until Andrew said, 'The Master needs them.'

Revd Ian spoke about people spontaneously gathering for events such as a great cruise ship coming to dock at Southampton and people going to meet Jesus. There were the crowds, but Jesus was alone as he rode, knowing where the journey led. Jesus had made his choice to follow his Father's will. Our decision to follow Jesus is also a choice. Ian recalled the college where he trained. There, he encountered people following Jesus who thought they were right, whether in high church or chapel. This experience taught him about the diversity of worship, the acceptance of each other's choices, and the importance of making a personal choice to follow Jesus. Two churches, even with the same name and denomination, are never the same. No two people in the churches are the same. But all can be following Jesus.

Last Monday, the Evergreen group, a group of people in their seventies and over who meet every month, chose and sang songs of praise for their meeting, with Ian on piano. Somebody chose To be a pilgrim, and it fits as we follow Jesus in the next week as the crucifixion and resurrection are revisited and relived.

Easter Sunday

Today was Easter Sunday, a day when Christian churches celebrated the resurrection of Jesus. At Trinity we had a model of the empty tomb, created for Experience Easter, an event staged by Trinity Learning, and visited by lots of schools before Easter. The date of Easter is changeable and is closely aligned to the Jewish Passover. In the bible Jesus was crucified after the passover feast. Easter is celebrated on the the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the Spring Equinox. This date was settled by the Council of Nicea in 325.

Waiting for Jam to return

This morning Tabitha led the service. The Jam (Jesus and Me) group went out after the first hymn, and  Tabitha was expecting them back before the last hymn. But we waited, and after a time Nigel played the organ and we sang the last hymn. We waited again. The coffee servers started to bring out coffee. Then the children returned. They held up cut-out doves and said into the microphone that they had talked about peace. Tabitha then said the blessing and the service formally ended.

Third Advent Candle

 

Tabitha lit the third Advent Candle as her husband, Revd Ian, led the service and gave a warm Trinity welcome. Both church boilers were working, and the church was warm despite sub-zero temperatures outside.

We welcomed a new member who has moved to Abingdon and transferred her membership to Trinity.

The JAM (Jesus and Me) group performed a nativity scene where the Inn Keeper kept getting woken up, first by a couple wanting a place to stay, and then lots of other visitors wanted to find the baby, Jesus.

Revd. Ian preached on the coming of Jesus. Then we shared Communion, remembering Jesus who celebrated the last supper and shared the bread and wine.

Prayer

Reverend Alan Grist from All Saints Church led the service today on the theme of Prayer.

Alan used to walk through a Jewish community in Tyneside on the way to school. The Jewish houses had a tube nailed to the doorframe. Inside on a parchment called the mezuzah were the words (of today's bible reading) from Deuteronomy. Leaving the house or returning people would put their hand on the tube and say the words ‘Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.’ 

Alan said that his equivalent was waking and praying the prayer taken from Richard of Chichester, Day by Day, may I know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, and follow thee more nearly.

Seize the moment

We listened to the story of Martha and Mary as it appeared in today's lectionary reading from Luke 10:38-42. Martha welcomed Jesus into their home and prepare food. Mary, was listening to Jesus speak. Then Martha asked Jesus if Mary could help her get the food ready. Jesus said that Mary had chosen the better part and that should not be taken from her. 

Daphne, who was preaching, asked us how do we make time for Jesus and seize the moment as Mary had. The final hymn was Seek ye first the Kingdom of God.

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Pentecost and Platinum Jubilee

Today we remembered Pentecost and the Queen’s Jubilee.

The hymns were pentecost hymns about the Holy Spirit.

Deacon Selina led us in considering the Queen’s service for seventy years and how she has served God and people and has shown in her life the gifts of the Spirit: faithfulness, love, patience, kindness, self-control, modesty. peace, and joy.’

Take this Moment

At church yesterday we sang a song written by John Bell. It had the last verse:
Take my talents, take my skills,
Take what's yet to be;
Let my life be yours, and yet
Let it still be me.

Revd' Ian's sermon was about two passages from Matthew's gospel: : the Talents and the sheep and goats. The sheep were welcomed with ' for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'

Then the parable of the talents where two servants made their master's money work and earned more money. The servant given one talent feared his master and so buried the money for safe keeping.

Ian asked, 'What point Jesus was trying to get across. Which of those servants do you most identify with?' The servant who hid the money was driven by fear. That fear stopped him taking any risk at all. Could the talents equate to gifts God has given us? It appears that all the servants wanted to please their master but one feared and did not use his gifts.

Taken together these two parables might be saying: don't fear, use the gifts God has given you for his Kingdom.

From the Peachcroft Christian Centre

I got into church early and was the first to be seated. T and R were chatting on the sound desk. T ran through the slides and I heard a short preview of each hymn. People arrived in ones and twos. Then I heard a few voices at once, like the echoes in an underground station. 

 At the start of the service, T welcomed us all from the lectern, . She especially welcomed, Andrew, the preacher, from the Peachcroft Christian Centre, and remarked we don't get many people from there.

One of the hymns, 'Give Thanks to the Lord', was a video performed by people from Peachcroft Christian Centre. 

The sermon had the title 'Our Identity in Jesus'. The main point being how closely we identify with Jesus. Andrew said the Christian life is like marriage where we give up part of our identity. He suggested spending more time in prayer as a start, and mentioned Prayer Force as a way into praying.

Returning to normality with caution

At Trinity Church in Abingdon this morning things are slowly returning to normal. For the first time people did not need to book in advance. However people were still socially distanced, and wore masks and there was no congregational singing. The songs were on videos. 

The preacher, Helen, was pinged by the NHS Covid-19 app on the way to church to say she needed to self isolate. She passed on her apologies and written prayers and sermon and they were read by another lay preacher. 

He began by saying you may have heard of the 'pingdemic' -  a play on words from “pandemic” and being 'pinged' or notified by the NHS app that you have been contact with somebody who has Covid-19 and should self isolate. 

He said that is why he was standing there before you instead of Helen. The service went smoothly and at the end Helen was complimented on her clear, and easy to read, notes.

Trinity Sunday

I was the door steward at Trinity Church and was waiting for the first people to arrive. I looked out through the half arch of the door to the blue blossoms of the ceanothus and yellow blossoms of a laburnum tree over the road. A car idled and birds chirruped and whistled. J and M came first and so I greeted them and ticked them off the pre-booking list. L was next to arrive. She was on her scooter and reversed it into a space by the door. The booking sheet had 20 people and next to her name was the comment 'reader'. There followed a rush of people, including S who was preaching, and Ba, who I added to the list - as she had forgot to book. At half past ten, S came to ask if we were expecting any more. G and M, the last two, came in at that moment. Ga asked when we were going to stop wearing masks. I said, 'possibly June 21st, depending on government advise.'

The Covid safety measures are the same as when the church opened after the first lockdown with masks and spaced seating and no singing. The first hymn video that played was 'Open the eyes of my heart, Lord'.

S's reflection was on the icon by 15th Century Russian painter, Andrei Rublev, known both as 'The Trinity' and 'The Hospitality of Abraham.' She said the Trinity was discerned by the early church and is not easy to explain but this icon can help us. It was made for prayer and can help us focus on God the Trinity and experience not in words but as a window. Selina then took us through a meditation on the icon with silences. S said we are included in the picture as there is a space for us at the front together with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.

The first service since lockdown

The bells rang out and Services resumed today. We’ve dipped our toes in the water and held the first Sunday service in our church building since lockdown began. The service followed the familiar form with prayers, bible readings, sermon and hymns. We were not allowed to sing, but we could still concentrate on the words as the music played. Government recommendations were followed to the letter and we felt perfectly safe. No conversations were allowed in the church building but there was opportunity to talk outside.

Worship at Home

Since the Coronavirus lockdown began we at Trinity have been following the Sunday Service Sheet that is sent by email, delivered by hand, and posted on the Trinity Website.

The service this week began with a poem about Social Isolation by R G Huff.

In our homes, we meet to worship,
far away from sacred space.
...

Then comes a well known hymn

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!


There follows a prayer asking that in these days of isolation we shall appreciate God's world more, and in particular  pray for endangered species. The prayer ends 'Teach us to care for your world and to respect all peoples.'

A short hymn by Isaac Watts 'From all that dwell below the skies'

We then have a reading from Peter's 1st Letter. We had a reading from Peter last week.

The preacher writes ... Peter urges us to be like Jesus even in difficult situations and reminds us that in so doing we can live in this world demonstrating God’s kingdom.

The service ended with two more well known hymns. The sheet said 'As you read or sing these hymns, may they also be your prayer. May God’s Holy Spirit help us to make these prayers'

 Brother, sister, let me serve you,
let me be as Christ to you ;
pray that I may have the grace
to let you be my servant too.
...

Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring your love ;
where there is injury, your pardon, Lord ;
and where there’s doubt, true faith in you
....

Go from your country - You must be born again

St Michael's Church joined us at Trinity today for the service led by Revd Ian and Deacon Selina.

Selina preached on two bible passages.

Abram was called by God to move from his home land (Genesis 12: 1 – 4a). Selina commented that methodist ministers had to pull up tent pegs and move on every five years. They could not get too settled.

The second passage was Nicodemus visiting Jesus at night (John 3). Nicodemus had been living  the Jewish commandments and customs. Jesus shocked him by saying you must be born again. Outward religion was not what God called for. It was inward religion, born of the Spirit. 

Ian then led us in communion in the URC way. We waited in our seats as the bread was brought round. We then shared the bread together. The same with the fruit juice. We are one family : St Michael's and Trinity. Usually the churches in Abingdon meet in their respective buildings, and today we were together.

After communion Rosemary and Malcolm led prayers. Rosemary read the words of Jesus from John 3. They shaped what Malcolm prayed for.

Thanksgiving for Liz Prout

Trinity Church was crowded. 

A lady played a Welsh harp before the thanksgiving service began.

I was next to somebody from a Welsh  choir with a very loud voice as we sang Guide me oh thou great Redeemer - the first hymn.

John Prout told us of Liz's life.  No big surprises like you get with some quieter people. We all knew her as a warm friendly smiling person. She had become a nurse. Given up her job to bring up the three daughters. Her husband travelled a lot for his business - disability aids, which he couldn't have run without her. She returned to working as a nurse, and on Tony Garret's suggestion went on to promote opportunities for disabled people to go to work. She had begun her life in Liverpool, Anfield. Gone to four Methodist Churches in her life and ended up at Trinity where she helped with lots of things. Cooking and flowers were things she loved. She helped at toddlers. She volunteered for the Monday Club with the learning disabled. She volunteered at the Abingdon Bridge, becoming their chair.  There were people from Liverpool and Monday Club and all through her life she had kept friends. John said she had a lovely soprano voice.

She had wanted to be a missionary but in a way Selina said she was like John Wesley who said "The world is my parish."

A few years ago when she got unwell I saw her being pushed on the Market Place and she did not seem to recognise or respond. Instead of the smile she looked through me.  I was aware of not knowing how to respond. She surely would have gone up to the person and smiled and held their hand.

She has been ill for some years, cared for at Bridge House. Selina said she visited and found the warm loving person within.

Family member read poems. One young lady read a prayer about a chrysalis becoming a butterfly. Selina told a story to the children about Big and Little and how Big cared for Little. There followed an adult's address.

We sang Let me be a channel of your Peace and How Great Thou Art.

A slideshow of pictures of Liz's life was shown with music.

Covenant Service

The Covenant Service was led by Revd Ian and Deacon Selina and was followed by a communion, and then a church meal in the Conduit Centre.

Before the service the steward read Ena'a note sending her love and saying she is settled in her new home. She has come regularly to Trinity and turned 101 in September.

Deacon Selina saw a rainbow on Faringdon Road on the way to church. What better way to start a Covenant Service! A pigeon was cooing from the roof as we said the Covenant words.

Revd Ian introduced the Covenant with a sermon. He also said that saying 'I am no longer my own but yours. Your will, not mine, be done in all things,' seems a sign of giving up our independence and self control to God. But what is the Christian life if not that, and doing that in love. He also said we could be doing a lot of the things already and so the covenant reinforces that resolve. He also said that sometimes we just reflect on one or two difficult lines rather than considering the covenant as a whole.

'Christ has many services to be done:
some are easy, others are difficult;
some bring honour, others bring reproach;
some are suitable to our natural inclinations and material
interests,
others are contrary to both;
in some we may please Christ and please ourselves;
in others we cannot please Christ except by denying
ourselves.
Yet the power to do all these things is given to us in Christ,
who strengthens us.'

Three Ministers

Revd Ian announced at the start of the service that Marjorie Wallis had passed away this morning. She was there at church two weeks ago but has looked very ill for some weeks - sitting at the back rather than near the pulpit. Always warm and welcoming and loved by all.

We said happy 101st birthday to Ena Mitchell for tomorrow. She had made it to church despite the rain and wind.

On Sunday 29th September there was a service taken by three Ministers. Revd Kate Pryde was celebrating thirty years since ordination.

Revd Richard Bittleston played organ and piano and also gave a message about journeying. He said life is a journey and you can't always plan it. God could have other ideas. So don't battle too much to go your own way or you can get very frustrated.

Revd Ian Griffiths said it is sometimes said that bringing 3 ministers produces 7 different opinions, but on this day he agreed with both Kate and Richard. We are all called to be ministers. Ordained Ministers are there to carry out the sacraments.

The Time is Right

Geoff Caudle led this morning's worship. Geoff is a local person with a local accent in these days when many of us have migrated to Abingdon from elsewhere. He used to run a building firm but has been retired for some time and still does local preaching.

He began his sermon with a recap of Jesus' ministry from where we remembered Jesus as a baby at Christmas to when Jesus started preaching in his 30s saying Repent for the Kingdom is here. Geoff then went forward to the reading from 1. Corinthians 15:1 - 11 where Paul speaks about the resurrection and how lastly after appearing to lots of people, Jesus had appeared to him, Paul.  Paul outdid others in sharing his faith, he felt so unworthy having persecuted Jesus' followers before his conversion.

Geoff asked if anybody was wearing a gift they had been given for Christmas. Some hands went up.

I am too, he said, although you probably would never guess.

One of his children had given him Beard Balm. He was not sure it did any good but next time he came back he might have a long luxurious beard.

The greatest gift his children had given him him and his wife were grandchildren. There were 14 of them. Some big already. Some medium, and some still small. It was good at Christmas to do things with the medium sized children, play games like Ludo, and help them put together models.

Geoff said not everybody will have grandchildren. It is good to be able to help and do things with people whether they are are grandchildren or not. To join in with what they need and help.

Then at the end of the service Geoff returned to St Paul. We like him should share the faith we have found through knowing Jesus personally. The title of the sermon was The time is right.