This week’s Worship
Sunday 4th July 2021 5th Sunday after Trinity (1st Sunday)
8:00 am BCP Holy Communion, Mawdesley
9:00 am Family Worship, Bretherton
9:15 am Holy Communion, Croston
11:00 am Holy Communion, Mawdesley
Wednesday 10am Holy Communion, Croston
** Friday 9am Morning Prayer at Mawdesley **
** cancelled until further notice **
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ
One of the paradoxes of life seems to be that the people we are closest to – our family and friends – can be the very ones with whom it is hardest to share the deep things of God. But in this week’s Gospel we see that Jesus also struggled in this way and that is further confirmed if we look in the other Gospels (Luke 2:41-51; Mark 3:21, 31-35). By returning to Nazareth as a prophet, healer and teacher, Jesus, a carpenter and the son of a carpenter, was stepping outside the role and status he had known in his hometown. Galilee was prosperous at this time, and, as carpenters, Jesus and Joseph were far from being amongst the poorest in their society. But still the status of a craftsman was considerably lower than that of the educated class, so the question, “Who does he think he is?” would be a natural question for people to ask. In Mark 3:21, we see that his own family shared the town’s sense of dishonour at Jesus’ unexpected behaviour. Attitudes were so set against him in Nazareth that “he could do no deed of power there except to cure a few sick people”.
This all contrasts so much with the general response of the public and so after the failure at Nazareth, Jesus travels amongst the other villages, teaching. He sends the disciples out in pairs with his authority to proclaim God’s message of love and repentance and to cast out unclean spirits. And we are told that with this authority “they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.” Such a contrast to Jesus’ experiences in Nazareth! Jesus had found his power there limited by the hostility and rejection of his own people. Where that power and authority found acceptance however, the disciples were able to do great things in Jesus’ name.
The pressures we experience from within our families and local communities can be very subtle, and can be exercised for many different reasons. On the one hand, there can be pride and pleasure in our achievements, and encouragement to press on. On the other hand, there may be envy, fear and resentment, and the discouragement that goes along with that. But Jesus’ attitude to his disciples is very different, he seeks to share it with others rather than keep it for himself. Then when has chosen his closest followers, he doesn’t seek to confine them, quite the opposite, he liberates.
Liberated by his power the disciples are taken beyond their human limitations, and began to live and work to a potential they never dreamt they had within themselves.
If we can reset our inner compasses to divine, rather than human, expectations, then we too will have the freedom to grow into the unique person God has created us to be, and to enable others to do the same. We, too, are challenged not to confine and restrict others by our attitudes and behaviour, but to free them to find their own path to fulfilment through Christ.
With love & prayers. Michael (Rector)
Tel: 01772 600548 mobile:07960309005, email: revmwoods@gmail.com
Sunday 11th July 2021 6th Sunday after Trinity (1st Sunday)
9:15 am Holy Communion, Croston
11:00 am Holy Communion, Bretherton
11:00 am Holy Communion, Mawdesley
Facebook & YouTube Online Worship
An Act of Worship from Blackburn Cathedral will be available every Sunday from 9am. You can view this on the Cathedral YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4GsctW6SLc or on their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BlackburnCathedral
This week’s Church of England worship comes from Holy Trinity Parish Church, Tottenham. Rt Rev Rob Wickham, Bishop of Edmonton, will be focussing on homelessness and rough sleeping.
You can watch the service from 9am Sunday.
https://www.facebook.com/thechurchofengland
Celebration for Croston Coffee Day 2021 Saturday 3rd July
Thank you to everyone who played a part in enabling Coffee Day to be marked in Croston this year.
Croston Village Place plan (Blackburn Diocese).
More leaflets have now been printed and distributed throughout Croston. Please do take this opportunity to be involved in meeting the future needs of the village. Also don’t forget Project Space that was launched earlier this year by the Sports Club and Croston together details can be found at: https://crostonsportsclub.co.uk/space/
Notice of Croston Graveyard Inspection – August 2021
We are required to conduct an annual inspection of the headstones in our graveyard, this will be undertaken during August and the inspection will follow the relevant Diocesan procedures. If you would like to speak to someone, would like to give us your contact details or have any concerns please contact Revd Michael at the church or by emailing revmwoods@gmail.com
Croston St. Michael and All Angels
The grounds around church and our graveyard are always so well maintained and a delight for all who visit.
If you can spare a few hours each week to help with the mowing and general maintenance and tidying up please contact:
Derek Alty – tel. 600584 or derek_alty@sky.com
Celebration to mark Mawdesley Tea Party day Saturday 10th July
The Tea Party Weekend cannot take place in its normal format this year due to the uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 Pandemic.
But we do want to still mark the weekend so we encourage people to make their own individual arrangements to mark this traditional day in our village. Perhaps a picnic on the Millennium Green or at home with family and friends, or maybe have a Meal at one of our Village Establishments. The Sunday Church Service in St. Peters at 11 am will also focus on the Tea Party, we will follow the current Covid guidance as we do at all our services.
St. Peters Mawdesley w Bispham
Do you have time to help keep YOUR Graveyard tidy at St. Peters
If so please ring DAVID 07919558259
Do you have time to help clean the brasses in Church?
If so please contact the Churchwardens.
Baptisms have restarted
We have now restarted baptisms in our 3 churches and we will be complying with Covid-19 restrictions and numbers will be limited, following the governments roadmap announcement last Monday.
We will mirror the restrictions placed on Weddings which are:
Currently: maximum guests allowed by each church, whist complying with current social distancing guidelines.
No earlier than 19th July possibly all restrictions lifted
Note: We have been overwhelmed by requests for baptisms so it is taking us some time to respond to all enquires.
Please email: revmwoods@gmail.com for further details.
Faith reference cards for school applications
Whilst Covid 19 restrictions remain in place across our churches, as they have done since the start of this pandemic we will treat all requests for a faith reference as full attendance. The Government Roadmap currently indicates that the earliest that all restrictions will now be lifted is 19th July. It is very unlikely now that we will monitor attendance before the start of the new term in September. This will be reviewed over the summer.
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