May 2024 – Reflections from the Rectory I find May a great month! In the church we celebrate the Ascension (when Jesus ascended into heaven on the 40th day after his resurrection), Pentecost (when the Holy Spirit was poured out and made available to all), and Trinity Sunday (where we focus on the mystery of …
Author archives: Philip Rawlings
Sermon 2024-04-14
Sermon 14th April 2024 Evensong Acts 3:12-19, Luke 25:36b – 48 I’d like to invite you, if you will, to imagine that you are an old Jewish tradesman in the 1st century in the middle East. You are a puzzled seeker trying to make sense of this Jesus stuff. Your thoughts may go something like this …
Sermon 2024-04-07
TITLE Texts: Acts 4: 32-35, John 20,:19-end Today we hear in our readings about two seemingly very different personalities. The first being Thomas, the apostle almost invariably labelled with the epithet ‘doubting’ and then we have Barnabas, whose name we are told means ‘Son of the Encourager’. The name Barnabas is now associated with not …
Annual Parochial Church Meeting
All are welcome to attend the APCM meeting at St. James’ Abinger. Sunday 28th April at 12 noon in St. James’ Church
Sermon 2024-03-31
Sermon 31st March2024 Readings – Acts 10:34-43, John 20: 1-18 Are we Easter people or Holy Saturday people? What do I mean by this? Are we lost in the darkness and confusion of Holy Saturday and in some ways content in wallowing in our inadequacies- in the ways we fall short, mess up and don’t measure up? …
Sermon 2024-03-27 Compline
Compline Reflection 27th March 2024 Wednesday: Head “O sacred head, surrounded by crown of piercing thorn! O bleeding head, so wounded, so shamed and put to scorn”. This is the head that is now given a kingly crown; only now at the time of his death does Jesus’ head bear the acknowledged symbol of kingship. …
Sermon 2024-03-26 Compline
Compline Reflection 26th March 2024 Tuesday: Feet Come see his hands and his feet, the scars that speak of sacrifice, hands that flung stars into space to cruel nails surrendered. See Christ’s feet nailed to the main beam of the cross; nailed with the same brutality as his hands have been pinned. Again see the …
Sermon 2024-03-25 Compline
Reflection for Compline 25th March 2024 Monday: Hands Come see his hands and his feet, the scars that speak of sacrifice, hands that flung stars into space to cruel nails surrendered. Hands pierced by nails, great clumsy pieces of iron hammered in with brutal power, hammered in with thoughtless uncaring cruelty; each blow struck with …
Good Friday
Good Friday is a poignant day in the Christian calendar; a day where we pause to remember the journey and the sacrifice Jesus made for us all on the cross. To mark this special day the churches across our Benefice are walking and meeting at St. James for a service of reflection at 1pm. There …
Music 2024-04-02
April 7th 2024, 2nd Sunday of Easter 10.30am Parish Communion Organ: Prelude in G major (BWV 542i) – J S BachIntroit: The Easter AnthemsHymns: NEH114 Now is eternal life; NEH113 Love’s redeeming work is done; [IA: 100 vv7&8]; NEH335 All praise to thee; NEH186 Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the LordAnthem: The Cherry …
