Dear all,
It is the end of September and the end of James. “Already?!” I hear you cry! Although the weather this week has definitely shown us the year is drawing to its close and the autumn of the year is upon us. So, it seems appropriate that we are talking about endings in James this week – not just endings of the book but looking ahead to the ending of days. Some may find this a depressing thought, but personally I see it as merely a recognition that all things have their times and their seasons and much as we like to think we are in control of life -there are some things out of our control. We may make all the plans in the world but find them turned on their head tomorrow or we might wish with all our might for something to happen today but in fact need to be patient and wait. As I see it there are two responses to the lack of control in life: We could think “nothing matters, it’s all meaningless, what’s the point of working at anything in this life if we can’t control what happens and when?” Or we could recognise that “we are not in control, no, but we believe in a good and generous God, therefore today is a gift that was unearned and unsought, how can I best honour and value that gift?”
The book of James, with his focus on wise living in response to faith in God, is all about that latter response. Recognising God’s sovereignty, God’s grace, God’s gift. Being transformed by it and living in response to it each and every day. And life may involve suffering and bad times as the reality of our broken world impacts on our lives but *“be patient…brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming…Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you ill? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.”* Live your daily lives, James is saying. Grieve, celebrate as and when you need – serve each other with faith in Jesus. This is how we as a community can stand apart and show another way – The Way of Jesus – that has its foundation and strength in the love of God that shows us how to live in community and communion with each other. And this Way stands apart from the world that has as its foundation a reliance on money and status.
And James ends reminding us of the power of prayer as we live – and wait – prayers are not just words thrown out into the ether they are a point of connection with the Almighty – the source of all power in the world. And when we make that connection in all the humble recognition of who we are in the light of God’s power God can work through us and change the world.
*“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:16*
And so I pray in confidence for you this week that you will be drawn closer to God and know God’s power in your life and in the life of our community.
*News and Upcoming Events*
*Thank You! *To all who supported our Macmillan coffee morning (this afternoon) we raised a wonderful £96.10 – a special thank you to Peter Andrews who championed the whole event.
*Saturday 28th September – 10.30-4pm Harvest Workshop at St Martin's Church* A day of workshops & worship for people with learning disabilities, their families or support staff.
*Sunday 29th September – Harvest Festival at St Philip’s Church - 10.30am – *Please do consider bringing food products to the service to donate to The Edge Café Food Hub and Community Fridge
*Saturday 5th October – 10am-1pm – Quiet Morning at St John’s Church, Hills Road *Organised by members of the Cambridge Month of Accompanied Prayer Team this will be a time to listen to God and be in God’s presence. Please email cambsprayer@gmail.com to book a place of find more information.
*Monday 14th October – 7.30pm – The Round Church, Cambridge* – Cambridge Apologetics lecture “A Racist, sexist, violent God?” Wrestling wisely with the Old Testament. Speakers will be Ellidh Cook and Matt Lillicrap. There will be another event coming up on *11th November* exploring Tolkien, his world view and his creation of Middle-earth.
*Garden working party – Stan’s House * As is inevitable - because plants grow – we need organise another working party to bring a measure of order back to the garden of 13 Thoday Street. If you are interested in helping out please speak to Jim Griffiths so we can arrange a time suitable for all.
*Introduction to Theology Course – *If anyone has been inspired over our sermon series of James to explore a little deeper what this faith thing is all about especially in terms of building up our church communities, then the Diocesan 10 week course is something worth thinking about. It is aimed at people thinking of LLM training, ALM preacher training or anyone who wants to think about more Theology for Ministry. Starting on *Thursday 7th October, 6.45 - 9pm Online, via Zoom* Booking: Diocese of Ely/events/mission_ministry https://elydatabase.org/events/mission_ministry
*Eco-Bite – our new green “nugget” each week: *
Apparently, September is the best time to put up bird boxes. So if you have always wanted one (or like us have been given one and haven’t put it up yet!) now is the time to make it happen. If you would like tips on best positioning and the dos and don’ts on bird boxes the British Trust for Ornithology has some helpful tips: Putting up a nest box https://www.bto.org/how-you-can-help/providing-birds/putting-nest-boxes-birds/putting-nest-box
*Last Week’s sermon*
Last week’s sermon beginning our series on James: sermon 22.9.24.mp3 http://sermons.stphilipschurch.org.uk/2024-09-22%20-%20Ruth%20-%20c.mp3
If you missed any previous sermons, or would like a second listen you can find them here:
The link to our sermon archive: St Philip's sermon archive http://sermons.stphilipschurch.org.uk/
*Prayers *
If any of you have specific prayers you would like us to include in this newsletter do please get in touch.
*Please pray for our Mission Partner this month:*
*Tearfund* – Tearfund is a Christian charity which partners with churches in more than 50 of the world’s poorest countries. They tackle poverty and injustice through sustainable development, by responding to disasters and challenging injustice. Tearfund believes that an end to extreme poverty is possible.
*Services this week 29th Sept – 5th October*
*Sunday: 5th Sunday of the month – Harvest Festival*
*10.30am – All Age Holy Communion – *this week Colin will be taking us through to the conclusion of James as we celebrate Harvest! Our readings are Mark 9:38-end and James 5:13-end
If you can't attend church in person you can always use this Zoom link:
meeting ID: 976 3739 9129 and Passcode: 330714
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/97637399129?pwd=TGhKWWxOcWF1S242aVhrWDlJdUkxZz09
*Wednesday:*
*12noon - Reflective Holy Communion *A quiet time to help find space and peace in the middle of the week.
*Regular Weekly Prayers to join:*
*Monday & Friday 8.30pm – Compline on zoom *
Meeting ID: 836 5965 9953 Passcode: 749968 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83659659953?pwd=btP5AjGMu1s-dE_2W9T0MMFqnnPKSS.1
*Wednesdays 7.00-7.30pm - Weekly Prayers on zoom*: - (Monthly in person – next in person prayer 16th October)
Meeting ID: 852 1105 2733 Password: 397987
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85211052733?pwd=OE52bm9NS1RtQVQ0ZytTc0xBZnVsUT09
*Regular Weekly small groups:*
*Thursdays 7.30pm – Bible study group at church*
*Saturdays 8.15am - Morning Bible Discussion and Prayer on zoom*:
Meeting ID: 143 338 655 Password: 824271
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/143338655?pwd=L1JJTFZJNU9EaFZjaUFjQzVlalpMZz09
With love and prayers
Ruth
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Blessings Ruth
*Revd Ruth Barry* *Vicar, St Philip's Church, Cambridge*
185 Mill Road, Cambridge, CB1 3AN 01223 318315 vicar@stphilipschurch.org.uk *My day off is Tuesday*