Covenant prayer
Dear all,
this week we again have both zoom and video options for worship at South Bristol. In both there is a chance to say the Covenant prayer, affirming your commitment to follow God in the coming year and also to think about 'a Methodist way of life'. The video has been prepared by and is led by Rev David Alderman, (the Circuit Superintendent) and is available any time: and I'll be leading the service on zoom on Sunday morning. A printed version of the prayer we will be using is attached.
If you want to find out a bit more about A Methodist Way of Life do click on this link to find out more: A Methodist Way of Life
This week (18-25th January) is the week of prayer for Christian Unity, and our reading this week is taken from materials prepared for this time. Do pray for other denominations and for all churches to draw closer to the ways of Christ, including our own.
And finally there is a chance to pray for any needs you would like to bring and for the church and wider issues, at lunchtime on Monday 12.30-1, either come and pray in silence or out loud as we join in with words from the Northumbria Community to frame our prayers. On zoom!
“See, I am doing something new”, says the Lord. “Now it springs up: don’t you see it? I am making a way in the wilderness, and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43.19
News and Worship Sheet 17th January 2021
Welcome to this edition of the news and worship sheet for Totterdown, St Peter’s, Knowle and Bedminster Methodist Churches.
If you would like to receive this sheet and the SBMC video or access to our online worship by email, please contact me. The videos and livestream are also available on our website, southbristolmc.org.uk and on youtube at SouthBristolMethodistChurch.
John 15.1-17
Jesus said: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.”
Reflection
When I was a student and for a few years afterwards, my parents lived in Hampton, in Middlesex, and when I stayed there we often went to Hampton Court Palace just down the road. In its gardens there is an enormous and very ancient grapevine, the oldest in the world. It was planted in 1768, takes up the whole of a very large glasshouse, and the ground underneath is regularly fed with manure to keep it in good condition. It is now four metres (13') around the base and the longest branch is 36.5 metres (120'). It regularly produces a crop of around 272 kg (600 lb) grapes which are sold in the palace shop. Every now and then a new glasshouse has to be built to accommodate its growth; the last one was built in 1969.
It’s obvious that if you cut a branch off, the branch would wither and die. And yet connected to the main plant, with roots deep in the nourishing earth, the vine is still flourishing and producing fruit, 250 years after it was planted.
It’s a good image for the church; one that reminds us that we need to keep our links with the source of our faith and our life, Jesus Christ. It also reminds me that we are not a static organisation, nor are we independent. We rely for growth and life on keeping connected to Jesus, through prayer and through each other. Each one of us is like a small twig, capable of producing fruit – the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control. The covenant promise which we make every year strengthens that essential link. This year when many of us have felt 'laid aside' or that God has asked of us more than we are capable of, the promise seems more relevant than ever, as we draw on his strength to do what seems impossible to us.
A vine cannot remain the same, but only survives by growing, receiving food, adapting to new circumstances, and changing. Let’s pray that this year we see true growth – that we keep connected to Jesus and to each other – and that the church we are part of flourishes as we adapt to every new situation.
This reading has also been chosen as the reading for the Week of Christian Unity, which runs from 18th-25th January this year. It makes sense that if we stay close to Jesus, we also stay close to each other. Let’s pray for the local churches around us and other Christians we know; and for the church across the world. Who do you know who follows Jesus in a different denomination or another part of the world? We almost certainly have more local and international links than we realise, and we are all branches of the same vine.
Rev Sally
Prayers
Please see the separate sheet for our Covenant Prayer. In saying this, though you may be on your own at home, you are sharing with others across South Bristol Methodist Church, and with Methodists and other Christians across the world.
We also pray this week for people in our congregations who work in care homes or for the NHS: Janet and Carol; Jean and Sheila; Edna, Charles and Martha; Susie and Ruth. May God strengthen and protect them, bless their families, and may others see God’s light through them.
Many people are missing Holy Communion, as with a few exceptions we haven’t been able to share the Lord’s Supper together since September and before that, March. However we can take a tip from the Armenian Orthodox Church. In Armenia, which has been a Christian country since the 6th Century, bread (usually flatbread, similar to naan or pitta bread) is literally broken and eaten with every meal. An Armenian Orthodox priest I know once told me that whenever they break bread, it is an opportunity to remember Jesus and his death and resurrection. Good advice.
News
Back in April we had a short piece on the video from Steve Bagshaw, a local preacher in Huddersfield who since April has been working on the Government’s task force for vaccine production, because of his role as CEO of a biotech company in the north east of England. I was delighted to hear he has been awarded a CBE in the New Year honours list, for his services to the biotech industry. There are, indeed, many ways to serve God. Congratulations to Steve.
Bristol Children’s Centre says a big Thank You for the gifts from People at SBMC Totterdown and St Peter’s which were distributed to the families at Christmas. One mum said: “Thank you so much for the gifts, my son is over the moon, he can’t stop dancing around. You guys are so kind, it’s brought tears to my eyes.” 535 gifts were given out across East Bristol and Broomhill to children from 261 families.
Local church leadership teams met last week, and the SBMC leadership team met on Monday 11th, to look at the way forward and make suggestions for Church Council in February. Do pray for these meetings. These are challenging times for all churches, but I am really encouraged by the way you keep in touch and support one another. May God continue to inspire you and give you energy!
And finally: some good advice on prayer: Keep it honest; keep it simple; keep it going……….
Rev Sally Spencer
Minister of South Bristol Methodist Church @ St.Peter's, Allison Road, Brislington; Redcatch Road, Knowle; Bushy Park, Totterdown; British Road, Bedminster.
"What does the Lord ask of you, but to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God" Micah 6.8
