The Christian Community of St Giles-on-the-Hill
Sunday 9th August 2020
Ninth Sunday after Trinity
There will be a service of Said Mass today at 10.30 am. We look forward to seeing you at this Mass.
A reminder that face coverings are now required to be worn in places of worship unless you are specifically exempted.
Other details of the ongoing restrictions owing to COVID-19 are contained in the special St Giles web update of Friday 3rd July and in the regularly updated Church of England pages. Please arrive in good time to familiarise yourself with the social distancing and other arrangements, so that everyone can be seated by 10.25am for the notices. And please remember to bring with you your personal copy of the white Mass booklet that you took home when you last came to St Giles. This is your own copy of the booklet, for you to use during the COVID-19 restrictions. Bring it whenever you attend a Mass at St Giles and then take it home again afterwards. The booklet is also available for download as a pdf file which you can print at home.
Today, we hear how Jesus walks on the waters of Galilee to be with his disciples, struggling in the battering winds of a storm. We worship God, and thank him for his calming presence alongside us in all the difficulties we encounter in our daily lives.
We are continuing to include below the details of the Sung Mass which we would have been celebrating on this Sunday in normal times. However, in our Said Mass in church there will be no hymns or other sung prayers and responses. You may like to look up the readings and the hymns below and reflect on the opening sentences of the Mass.
This week the hymns are from the New English Hymnal. You can click on the titles of the individual hymns to hear recordings. Thank you to our organist Ian Graydon for supplying these links. Details of each hymn are also available on line at Hymnary.org
Introit Hymn 354 Eternal Father, strong to save
Collect
Almighty God,
who sent your Holy Spirit
to be the life and light of your Church:
open our hearts to the riches of your grace,
that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit
in love and joy and peace;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
First Reading 1 Kings 19:9-18
Psalm 85:8-13
Second Reading Romans 10:5-15
Gospel acclamation Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Cantors The word of the Lord endures for ever;
the word of the Lord is the good news announced to you.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Priest Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew
All Glory to you, O Lord
Gospel Matthew 14:22-33
Priest This is the gospel of the Lord
All Praise to you, O Christ
Intercessions
Offertory Hymn 433 O Worship the King
Communion Hymn 295 Let all mortal flesh keep silence
Post Communion Prayer
Holy Father,
who gathered us here around the table of your Son
to share this meal with the whole household of God:
in that new world where you reveal the fullness of your peace,
gather people of every race and language
to share in the eternal banquet of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Angelus
Recessional Hymn 427 O Praise ye the Lord!
Next Sunday’s readings: Isaiah 61:10-11; Psalm 45:10-17; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 1:46-55
Rector Canon Darren Thornton (part-time) also UEA Chaplain (day off Monday) 01603 623724 Click to email
Churchwardens Rowena Atkinson (01603 455729) Bob Emsell (01603 439632)
Newsletter & Traidcraft Kate Baldry (01362 695503) Click to email
St Giles Twitter page shares our news, resources and photos day by day. Our particular thanks to Hakan for maintaining and updating this service.
The Facebook pages of Norwich City Churches and Norwich East Deanery are frequently updated with news of many Norwich churches, including St Giles – well worth taking a look.
Notices
From Fr Darren
A Reflection – How do we hear the voice of God? How open are we to look out for promptings of the Holy Spirit to give us a blessing? Over the last two weeks so many people have made contact with me to say how apt our ‘Encouraging Message’ on our church notice board is. It comes from Isaiah 35 v2 “There will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy”. I think that verse has meant so much to people at this time because it is a promise of HOPE for the future.
We are all missing singing in church, missing seeing friends, missing all the things we once enjoyed doing, and the verse from Isaiah helps us look forward to that time in which these difficult times will be turned into much joy – a better tomorrow.
The other prompting of the Spirit this last week has been four parishioners and a former parishioner making contact with me to mention the popular Sunday School hymn ‘Count your blessings’ – “Count your blessings, name them one by one and it will remind you of what the Lord has done.” Isn’t it interesting how many people are clinging onto the words of promise and assurance of that lovely, simple hymn? You can hear a beautiful version of the hymn here.
I share all this with you because maybe the Lord is speaking to us through it? Holding on to hope, holding on to God’s blessings, holding on to a time when we will see better days, reminds us that our God is with us in all this. We have not been abandoned but God is holding us in it giving us all his deep, deep Peace and the promise of an abundance of new things to come. Hold on in there! We are missing those who feel that they are still unable to return to church. You have not been forgotten. You must only return when you feel confident and strong enough to do so. In the meantime, let’s all count our blessings and be open to receive more of these blessings which God longs to pour out in this coming week.
Face masks We are now required by the Government to wear face masks while in church. Please could everyone also refrain from singing along with the taped hymns at the Sunday Mass. I know how desperate we all are to sing again but we are trying to reduce the risks and keep safety paramount. Thank you.
Annie Blyth and Tracy Williams, our former ordinands, were ordained as priests on Friday by the Bishop of Thetford. We pray for them and for Raymond and Bev, and send them our love and best wishes from St Giles for their continuing ministry at the St Georges and St Matthew’s respectively. Thanks to Carole Hill for the happy photo!
A Summer Appeal – Parish Summer Raffle We are hoping that our raffle will be able to raise the sum that we would have raised at our Parish Fete if it had not been cancelled. That target is £2000. We will need to sell a lot of raffle tickets to reach that figure!! Can you help to do that? We hope that with whatever you would have spent at the Fete you will buy raffle tickets instead. We need some very generous purchases of raffle tickets each week. We really do need your help. There are some wonderful raffle prizes. We have four Sundays before it is drawn and to reach the target we need to raise £333 each Sunday. Please bring some extra cash / notes to Mass to help. Thank you so much!
Elsie’s marmalades are coming back by popular demand! Do bring some extra cash to church to make your purchases. We hope to have some of the marmalade available very shortly. All monies raised will go to church funds. Thank you Elsie.
Thank you to those who donated bric-a-brac for our summer sales tables. We now have so much stock that we currently don’t need any more donations. Do have a look at the tables when next in church and pick up a bargain.
Advance warning The Harvest Festival Mass (Sunday 13 September 10.30am) will now not be followed by a Bring-and-Share lunch which has sadly had to be cancelled. However please do bring harvest gifts to be passed on to those from the West Pottergate Estate who are in need. Please bring items from the following list: tinned food (especially meats and tuna for sandwich fillings), biscuits, orange / apple juice, coke, crisps, chocolate bars and any items which help families make up a child’s packed lunch. Cleaning items such as polish, bleach, toilet cleaner, and kitchen and bathroom cleaner are also needed. Thank you.
Church opening times Our current weekly pattern of public worship is:
Sunday 10.30am Mass; Tuesday 12 noon Mass; Friday 10.00am Mass.
Please remember to bring your personal copy of the white Mass booklet with you each time you attend a Mass at St Giles and then take it home with you afterwards. This is your own copy of the booklet for you to use during the COVID-19 restrictions.
The church is also open for private prayer at the following times during the week:
Monday – mid morning to lunchtime
Tuesday- mid morning to 2.30pm (Mass at 12 noon)
Wednesday- mid morning to lunchtime
Thursday – mid morning to lunchtime
Friday- mid morning to lunchtime (Mass at 10.00am)
Saturday – mid morning to lunchtime
A big thank you to our volunteer church stewards for making it possible to open our sacred building for people to come in to light a candle and to pray.
Saying our prayers – thank you to those who have sent and continue to send prayer requests for me to bring to God during the daily offices. It has been a good way to keep in touch and hold you and your situations in prayer. If you have prayer requests do email me, be those prayers of needs or worries or something you want to give thanks to God for. All of our prayer requests matter to the God who has created us. As I pray for you perhaps you would be kind also to pray for me.
The Norwich East Deanery prayer calendar for July to October can be downloaded here. The Norwich Diocese prayer calendar for August is also available – click here. And the Norwich East Deanery Fellowship and Prayer Walk will be taking place on Saturday 22nd August, arriving at the Cathedral Cloister for a prayer and blessing at 12 noon.
Saving Graces is a fortnightly series of interviews by the Revd Canon Susanna Gunner with a range of people who have experienced the last few months of the Covid-19 pandemic in very different ways. Each interview is with a different person: a vicar who has helped co-ordinate food provision, a hospice chaplain, a retail assistant, a headteacher, a priest who has been shielding, and a delivery driver. Broadcast on Radio Norfolk on alternate Sundays at 9.45 am, the interviews are also available now as podcasts.
The Church of England’s online weekly service today is led from Christ Church, Cambridge, by Rev Dr Lee Gatiss, the Director of Church Society. In his sermon, Lee reflects on God’s kindness and mercy. You can see a trailer of the service here.
Worship on line It is wonderful that there are so many ways in which we can join in worship on line, with links all over the world! We have carried a selection of links on our weekly notice page since the beginning of lockdown, and these have now been moved to a separate links page. New links will be appearing initially in our regular weekly notice sheet.
The St Giles Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) will be on Sunday 6 September after Mass at 12 noon.
The Heritage Open Days will be taking place in September over a longer period than in previous years – Friday 11 September to Sunday 20 September. We hope to have St Giles open each day from mid-morning to after lunch. There is a form at the back of church with further details. We hope that those who normally open the church will be able to do their slots which will mean that we are able to cover each day. The Bike Ride will take place on Saturday 12 September. Information relating specifically to the 2020 Bike Ride can be found here.
Our thanks to everyone who has responded so generously to our request to continue making your donations to St Giles during this difficult period for churches. You can send a cheque to the Treasurer or pay by means of a standing order from your bank. Please contact John by email for further details.
Visit the Bishop’s Gardens in Norwich – the last of this summer’s Open Days at the Bishop’s Garden in Norwich is today, Sunday 9th August, supporting the National Garden Scheme. Click here for further details including link for booking.
eNews from the Diocese of Norwich is a (usually fortnightly) e-newsletter which contains a snapshot of news, events and resources from the Diocese. It’s free to sign up to, to ensure that you don’t miss the latest information. Everyone with an active role in their church should subscribe! Previous editions are available at the bottom of the eNews page.
Just a reminder that you can receive each new page on the St Giles website as soon as it goes live by signing up to receive the posts in your email. Scroll to the bottom of this page and type or paste your email address in the ‘Follow’ box. Alternatively you can contact John by email and ask him to add your name to the list. Either way, you will then receive an email from WordPress asking you to confirm that you want to receive the updates. Click on the ‘Confirm Follow’ button in the email. It will open a WordPress page in your browser with the details of your setup, but you can simply close the page. (It is there just in case you want to change any of the settings listed.)
Traidcraft face masks Fairtrade cotton face masks are in stock at the warehouse and Kate can order them for you. They are priced at £4 and have a ‘nose strip’ which means that they can be secured over your nose, which is especially useful for those of us who wear spectacles and find that other fabric masks cause steaming up of the lenses when you exhale! Unfortunately you can’t specify the colour but if a batch is ordered then there should be a variety of colours to choose from. Kate and John have some which you can see when you next meet. Just give Kate a ring (01362 695503) or click to email.
