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August
2022
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Services |
7th |
10:30am |
Rev
Jonathan Greaves |
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(C) |
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14th |
10:30am |
Rev
Anne Roberts |
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21st |
10:30am |
Rev
Suzanne Roberts |
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28th |
10:30am |
Dr
Peter Baines |
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(C)
denotes communion will be held as part
of the worship service
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Weekday
Meetings |
Monday |
Craft
Group |
2:00pm |
1st,
15th and 29th |
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Gardener's
Corner   |
August
is traditionally the holiday period, when
we all relax and enjoy our earlier efforts
outdoors. This year is difficult because
of the heat and lack of rain of course.
However, the fruits are ripening - plums
and early apples (crisp straight from
the tree!) Hydrangeas are wonderful this
year, I noticed them all along the back
entrance to NHH which are spectacular!
Wisteria is flourishing now - time to
prune and cut off all those long, wispy
shoots to encourage flowering next year.
Hedges need several trips every year of
course, but holly, yew and other conifers
will settle for just a single cut. Beech
& hornbeam will copy with one too but
usually are better for a second, one in
June and one in late August.
Phlox should just be flowering too making
a lovely show in your borders, need trimming
after flowering or it will take over!
Now is a good time to start your seed
collections, any perennials with seed
pods - make sure you pack them safely
and label them, you'll never remember
next year what they are! Be mindful of
your roses now - look for mildew and blackspot
and treat accordingly.
Tomatoes are ripening now and will be
prolific over the next few weeks - lots
to do with those.
Enjoy your gardens and stay cool!
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Minister's
Musings |
Helen's
Musings
I'm a dog person ... Inca, our sprocker
spaniel, would be causing chaos if she
was with us in church on a Sunday, but
I love her. When writing about his own
beloved dog Martin Luther claimed: Our
Lord has made the best gifts, the most
common. You might be a cat person, or
a lizard person, but I hope you can relate.
And, just as we tend to treat our pets
like people, I think it's often easy for
us to forget that we too are animals.
It's only a 2% difference between our
DNA and the DNA of a chimpanzee that accounts
for our ability to write poetry, compose
music, create vaccines, invent the iPad
or brew beer. That 2% is also responsible
for the much darker aspect of humanity,
things like I'm a celebrity Get Me Out
of Here and Love Island!
But let's not dwell on that. No, what
we tend to do much more often with our
bigger brains is worry. Our brains can
conceptualise the future that is not yet
real and we even fool ourselves into believing
that we need to do this; as though if
we worry enough we can prevent the badness.
But powerful as the human brain is, it
isn't that powerful. So lest we become
convinced that we are greater than other
animals, just because we can do a Sudoku
puzzle, Jesus reminds us that these vast
evolved brilliant brains of ours might
have a little something to learn from
birds. Do not worry about your life. Look
at the birds. Just let go of your anxieties
about tomorrow. How by worrying can I
add a single hour to the span of my life,
worry doesn't make the thing I fear not
happen. It just diminishes my present.
What parent by worrying can ensure their
children make good life choices? Who by
worrying can make a lover love them more?
Nothing is added to our lives by worrying,
but plenty is taken away. It makes me
miss every good thing that is right in
front of me now. It gives me nothing,
but it takes much away. Worry cuts me
off from love and beauty and pleasure
that God has presented to me in the present
moment. When Jesus says not to worry I
don't hear a command; perhaps it's permission.
Less, 'stop worrying' and more, 'it's
okay, I'll take the anxiety, you can let
it go.'
I don't know about you, but there's so
much that could go wrong in this world
that I can feel that it is my responsibility
to worry. As if anxiety and vigilance
are the same thing; they are not. Just
be in today. It's okay. I can let Jesus
have tomorrow. I'm not advocating irresponsibility;
it is responsible to plan and as members
of the Jesus Movement we are called to
action, but I don't have to worry about
what might happen, remember God is already
present in the future we are worrying
about. And meanwhile, Jesus says, it's
okay. Give your worries to him and live
in the present. Notice the way God's magnificent
creation is bursting with joy. We get
to be here. Just be in this day. It is
wonderful. We get to feel how exquisite
it is to be alive and know that the Lord
is good and has indeed made the best gifts,
the most common. This is the abundance
of God's salvation.
With thanks to Google
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©
2012 www.govilonbaptist.org.uk
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