On this day we celebrate the Holy Communion with special thanksgiving and joy, for this is the day when Jesus gave the BlessedKey contacts
Associate Priest Rev Dr Malcolm Wearing T: 07557 658452 E: malcolm@revmw.co.uk
Team Rector Rev Carol Pharaoh T: 01942 859251 E: carol.pharaoh@gmail.com
Team Vicar Revd Angela Wynne T: 01204 468150 E: revawynne@gmail.com
Churchwardens
Pewsheet Editor Karen Bailey E: stjamespewsheet@hotmail.com Copy by 2pm Wednesday for following Sunday.
Facebook Steph Gregory E: st_james_church85@yahoo.com
Website www.stjamesdaisyhill.co.uk
Services start at 10am on Sunday and Wednesday
New system as from Sunday 6
th June 2020
The PCC has decided that for a trial period it will no longer operate a booking-in system for church attendance. This will be reviewed after Sunday 20
th June to determine how well it is
working. We have never had a Sunday or Wednesday service since social distancing measures were introduced when we have had to turn anyone away from a service, and it is expected that we will be able to fit everyone in each Sunday. The new procedure will be that attendees will sign their name on a sheet as they enter church for track and trace purposes, then will be shown by a steward to a seat.
Please see our Team YouTube link for our latest services: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDx266HLh9ShYeBJnON8ODg
READINGS FROM THE BIBLE Epistle - James 1:17-end Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfilment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures. You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing. If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. Gospel - Mark 7:1-8,14-15,21-23 Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there
The Collect
Almighty God, you search us and know us: may we rely on you in strength and rest on you in weakness, now and in all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Post Communion Prayer God our creator, you feed your children with the true manna, the living bread from heaven: let this holy food sustain us through our earthly pilgrimage until we come to that place where hunger and thirst are no more; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?’ He said to them, ‘Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, “This people honours me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.” You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.’ Then he called the crowd again and said to them, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.’ For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’
Please remember in our prayers those who are sick: Connor Wood Ann Grundy Michelle Davies Cathy Morse Mike Redfern
Alfred Palin Hilda Biddlecombe Lydia Hill Neil Redford
Gracious God, give skill, sympathy and resilience to all who are caring for the sick, and your wisdom to those searching for a cure. Strengthen them with your Spirit, that through their work many will be restored to health; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Please pray for the family and friends of those whose anniversary of their passing falls this week: Leonard Sidaway Wilfred Condon
June Physick Joseph Waterworth Lyon
M Almighty and eternal God, from whose love in Christ we cannot be parted, either by death or life: hear our prayers and thanksgivings for all whom we remember this day; fulfil in them the purpose of your love; and bring us all, with them, to your eternal joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
5
Homily for 29 August by Christine Radford In our family we have a time-worn joke – “What’s worse than finding a worm in your apple? “ Answer: “Finding half a worm”.
You can’t always tell from its outward appearance that there is a worm in your apple – it might look crisp and sweet, but inside it could be harbouring a passenger – or even be completely rotten at the core. As so often in life, it’s not a good idea to judge by outward appearances.
In recent months, we have become obsessed with cleanliness, thanks to the pandemic. We have been instructed to regularly sanitise our hands or wash them for the prescribed number of seconds, (mentally singing ‘Happy Birthday to you’ twice instead of counting) to wipe down or spray with disinfectant every hard surface, to wear a mask, to keep a correct social distance from everyone outside our bubble… the list goes on. And for a very good reason – we want to save lives. If, as the saying goes “cleanliness is next to godliness”, we should all be really holy by now.
The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were really hot on the subject of hand washing too, though their concern was not for hygiene but for correct procedure – there were certain prescribed rituals that you had to follow if you were going to be considered a “good” (i.e., an observant) Jew and these included a pattern of washing hands and dishes. Jesus and his followers had not followed the prescribed ritual and the Pharisees were on it immediately.
Jesus was nobody’s fool. He saw straight through the religious leaders who challenged him; he knew they didn’t really care about the meaning behind the washing, they only cared about it being done right – that is according to the rules they themselves had invented. They thought that following rules and traditions were more important than the kind of person you are.
Jesus knew better, and he made a point of telling them where they were going wrong! He knew that it’s not what you put into your mouth that makes you a better person or a worse person – it’s what comes out of it, all the lies and foul language, the unkind words, the dirty jokes, the gossip, the plotting against other people, the chatting up, the bragging.
Because everything we say reflects what goes on in our hearts, the real us that we think no-one can see. We may put on an act, but our real self will show up eventually. Sooner or later, we say something unguarded that reveals our true nature. When I was licensed as a Reader, I discovered to my consternation that on the licensing documents it said, amongst other things, that the Bishop had been assured of my Godly conversation. My first thought was “Oh dear! What Godly conversation?” And then, “Who told him?” “And just how much did they tell him?”
Suppose I had a bucket with your name on it. And suppose this bucket held all the bad things you had ever said during your lifetime. How would you feel about sticking
6
your head in it (like Harry Potter and the Pensieve) and listening to some of them? Would you have any regrets about them, do you suppose?
Or how would you feel about tipping them out for us all to hear? Would you want to stay around to watch the reaction of other people? Would the things you’ve said privately match up to what you say in public? Only God is perfect. None of us is perfect. All of us have done, thought or said things that we should now regret – lots of times. If I just look back over this week, I can think of unkind things I have said or thought, unsuitable expressions I have used – things I can never unsay or unthink. And I’m sure I’m not the only one. We may go to church every Sunday, bring our offering, sing every hymn, listen to
every word the preacher says (!), but does it change anything in our hearts? We
may look good on the outside, but our goodness may only be skin deep. Is our
worship for appearance only or is it from the heart?
We may ‘talk the talk’, but do we ‘walk the walk’? And if not, when are we going to
start? Let’s ask God to help us come to him with a right attitude, a sincere desire to
worship and to live lives worthy of our calling. Amen
7
NOTICES Confirmation 2021 A Confirmation Service will be held at St Bart’s Church on Sunday 7th November 2021 at 3 pm. If you are a young person who will be in in Year 6 or above from September 2021 and would like to consider confirmation, please ask an adult to pick up and complete a registration form from church. If you are an adult who would like to consider confirmation, please also get in touch. If we already have your details you don’t need to apply again. We will be in touch about Confirmation Preparation Classes which will begin in September. Thank you. School Admission Forms (Secondary Schools ONLY) If you have any school admission forms that you would like us to complete, please put your forms in an envelope along with a note stating which church building(s) you usually attend. If you attend St Thomas’ Church, please also include a photocopy of your church attendance card(s). Please also include a contact number for us to contact you on. Then please bring your envelopes along to any of our churches when they are open for church services and drop them in the box provided. Alternatively you can pop them through the Rectory letter box. (Off Market Street in Westhoughton, up the drive by the old Barclays Bank building.) We will let you know when your form is ready to collect and where from. Alternatively, if you would like us to post the form(s) back to you, please include a stamped self-addressed envelope. Please be aware that all the schools are only asking us to provide information relating to church attendance, up to and including 15th March 2020. No church attendance or intent to attend from this date, will give you any additional points. THANK YOU. Beanie Hats September is nearly here, so that means… I won’t say Christmas... but Beanie Hat time is nearly here! As you know, Operation Christmas Child like to include knitted Beanie Hats in their Christmas Boxes which are sent for children in a different country each year. The knitters at St. James and friends have always come up trumps and over the years have sent many hats. Can we do the same this year? Please help if you can. If you need a pattern (it is very easy) please ask or there will be some in church. Thank you. The Mission Group. Would you like to train as a bell ringer? St Bart's Bell ringers are looking for some new recruits, primarily to ring before the 11am Sunday service but on other occasions too. If you are interested in having a go and want to know more about what the commitment would be, please contact
8
Carol Pharaoh in the first instance who will put you in touch with the Tower Captain. You need to be at least 12 years of age to ring church bells. Thank you. Social and Fundraising Group As many of you know the social and fundraising group arrange events throughout the year. This allows us to raise money for church, at the same time socialising with church members and meeting people within the community. The last 12 months has not allowed us to do any of this. We are now looking for some more people to join us in putting these activities together. You may have ideas we have not thought of. Please give some thought to this request and consider joining us. Thank you. Jenifer email: bjpalin83@gmail.com Flower List 2021 We do have a Flower List on the noticeboard at the back of church.If anyone wishes to make a donation towards flowers for a special occasion or in memory of a loved one then please add your name against your specific date to the list at the back of church. Any queries, please speak with me. Jenifer 07785316155
Team Bible Study Groups In August and in each month up to the end of the year, we are holding some Bible Study groups based on Old Testament Characters. Some of these sessions will be face to face and others will be online on zoom. All are invited and welcome to attend any of the sessions. Below are details and times of dates of these. If people would like to attend an online session, please contact the leader in charge and the zoom details will be sent accordingly.
OLD TESTAMENT CHARACTERS
JONAH Running
from God
Leader: MATT DUNNE
HANNAH Praying in
Leader: MALCOLM W
Leader: MATT DUNNE
SAMUEL Hearing God’s voice
Tuesday 19th Oct 7 pm
Thursday 21st Oct 2 pm
Thursday 4th Nov 7.30 pm
Leader: ANDY
Leader: ANGELA W Leader: CAROL P Leader: ANGELA W
Venue: St Katharine’s
https://www.eden.co.uk/christian-books/bible-study/bible-study-guides/old-testament-characters/
10
11
12
13
Local Walking Over the Summer, Bolton Unity Alliance are organising a series of ‘Community Walks’ at various locations in the Bolton area aimed at bringing together people from different backgrounds in the Bolton community. The walks will take place on Thursday afternoons at 2pm. Each of the walks will be fairly gentle (although some include quite steep inclines and slightly rough terrain), on good footpaths, approximately 3 miles in length, and taking about 1½ hours to complete. (please see the dates and locations of the walks in the table below this message). If you, would like to participate in these walks please email Keith Armstrong at tcc@bolton.gmim.org.uk and I’ll send you further details of the walks including meeting times etc. (Please note numbers are limited and places will be given on a first come first served basis). Best regards, Keith Armstrong
On behalf of the Bolton Unity Alliance (Bolton Christian Community Cohesion, Bolton Hindu Forum, Bolton Wanderers Community Trust, Bolton Solidarity Community Association, Bolton Council of Mosques, Bolton Interfaith Council).
Date Walk Meeting Point Possible extra activities
2 Thurs 29 th
July Last Drop Village
Hospital Rd, Bromley Cross,
Rivington Lane, Horwich, Bolton,
M27 6NG
Chorley, PR6 9DQ
Rd, Smithills, Bolton, BL1 7PT
Birdwatching
7QS
Bolton, BL1 7NP
Ryal Fold, Darwen, BB3 0PA
Refreshments at Ryal
Lower Car Park, Batridge Rd, off
Green’s Arms Rd, Turton, BL7
0LU
Jackpot winners for July
£50 J Tate (48) £25 A Crowder (97) £10 A Prideau (16)
I am now taking payments for the coming year June 2021-May 2022, £12 for the year. Payment can be cash, cheque or bank transfer. We have managed to get the spare available numbers down to 15. If you know of anyone who would like to take on a number then please let me know. Thanks to those who supported the 200 club during the last year. £917 was donated to church. Jenifer 07785316155
We’re now registered with easyfundraising, which means you can help us for FREE. Over
4,000 shops and sites will donate to us when you use easyfundraising to shop with them – at
no extra cost to yourself! All you need to do is sign up and remember to use easyfundraising
whenever you shop online. It’s easy and completely FREE! These donations really mount up, so
please sign up to support us at
https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/stjameswesthoughton/?utm_campaign=raise-
The Great Invitation
Victoria Hall, Bolton
17th & 18th September 2021 Following last year’s successful ‘Believe in Bolton’ event; we are delighted to announce that J. John, a world-renowned evangelist, author and speaker, is coming to Bolton for what will be two amazing evenings. Each evening will be 90 minutes packed full of stories, music and a message from J. John
about the greatest invitation we can ever receive.
For full details, visit… www.believeinbolton.org
Worship Church of England The Church of England is producing a series of prayers and acts of worship for those unable to attend church, available here:https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/coronavirus-liturgy-and- prayer-resources 96.5 Bolton FM - 11am - 12pm The Spirit of Bolton Prayers for Bolton - Rev. Ian Smart and Sue Snowden
More Prayers for Bolton, our weekly act of worship, which will be hosted once again by Ian and Sue from Harwood Methodist Church. They will lead listeners through a selection of worship, hymns, songs, prayers, readings and reflections. It is a chance for you to be able to worship at home, and to raise your voices in praise with others from around the Bolton Family.
Items needed
Tinned meat, veg, chopped tomatoes, fruit, 500g boxes of breakfast cereal, Cordial, Long life milk, Custard powder, 1kg bags of rice, Pasta (500g), Baked beans, Tinned soup, Jars of pasta sauce, Tinned pulses, Tinned vegetables (sweetcorn, peas, carrots and potatoes), Biscuits, Tinned fish, Tea, jars of baby food (different ages), Incontinence pads, Male toiletries, Nappies, Wipes. Size 3 nappies are needed at the moment! Local Information Bolton Council are producing a daily bulletin of useful information from guidance for personal security to details of Bolton Market Traders offering a home delivery or order and collect service. Contact Keith Armstrong via email tcc@bolton.gmim.org.uk giving him your name and email address and ask to be put on the circulation list for the Bolton Council Daily Bulletin.
19