Sunday 6th December

by church news | Nov 28, 2020 | Front Page, Sermons

We are delighted to let you know that from Sunday 6th December, we’ll be having services again and the details are as follows:

•  9.30am at the Barn: Joint Worship Communion by Extension

Sermon and intercessions for: Last Sunday before Advent Christ the King (with audio)

by church news | Nov 22, 2020 | Front Page, Sermons

Readings:         Psalm 95:1-7                               Ezekiel 34:11-16. 20-24

Ephesians 1:15-end                   Matthew 25:31-end

“I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”

If there is one good thing that has come out of this present Pandemic it is the care that so many people have shown to those in need.  Doctors, nurses, carers, those who work in food banks and other charitable organizations; even neighbours who for the first time have perhaps got to know who lives next door or in their street; often these acts of care or kindness are carried out without the knowledge of the recipient.

It is true that often out of trouble and adversity there is a very human and basic response of kindness, charity and dare I say even love.  We have again just had “Children in Need”, and one cannot but be struck by the plight of so many children in this country alone, without looking at the desperate situation of children in so many parts of the rest of our world.  Yet, year after year there is a very heart warming response from the British public as a whole.

Today, ‘Christ the King’ Sunday, celebrates the all-embracing authority of Christ as King and Lord of all things.  Instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925, this Feast Day is now celebrated on the final Sunday of Ordinary Time in the Church’s calendar, that is, the Sunday before the beginning of Advent, which of course, leads us up to Christmas.

In 1925 Pope Pius XI, and the rest of the Christian world, was witnessing the rise of non-Christian dictatorships in Europe, which saw Catholics being ‘taken in’ by these earthly leaders, dictators who often attempted to assert authority over the Church.  The Feast of ‘Christ the King’ was instituted during this time, when respect for Christ and the Church was waning; the ‘feast day’ was seen to be needed to reverse this decline.

Today of course many of our churches are closed, as with St. Luke’s and the Barn apart from being open for private prayer, and I know our church leaders are trying very hard to reverse that Government decree, as I believe many reading and hearing this would also wish.  It is though in my opinion the strength of the Christian faith, that it lives in it’s believers, we are the ‘body of Christ’, the church.

This allows us to function outside the four walls of a building, in fact Christ began to build his church on a ‘rock’ called Peter, and this ‘church’ was taken on and grown by the Apostle Paul and his followers in the peoples of present day Turkey and Greece.

How much of that teaching of Christ, as we heard in our Gospel reading, is being carried out, day after day, in these present times, and by those who do not ask or seek for any reward or recognition.  Who so often go unnoticed, without praise or thanks, other than knowing in themselves that they have done a good turn for a fellow human being less fortunate than themselves.

“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”

We are never in isolation, never completely alone, never just one set of footprints in the sand, for God sees and knows all, even if so often we doubt or forget that He is with us always.

As Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians:

“God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.”

A king who rode on a donkey, and ruled not by the sword, or by false promises, or by offering power and prestige to others, but by love and care and commitment to those who were hungry, thirsty, strangers, unclothed and unloved, those who even today are the most forgotten or rejected by our society.  It is as Christians, as Christ’s Church here on earth that we, you and me, must continue to grow His Kingdom, and show ourselves worthy of being with Him in the ever-lasting kingdom at the end of time.

So as we celebrate this ‘Christ the King’ Sunday let us do so in the knowledge that Kings, Queens, Dictators and even Presidents will come and go, but there is only one true King with ‘power and dominion’, who will be with us and care for us as long as we praise His name.    Amen.

Prayers for the Feast of Christ the King

Dear Lord,
You sent your son as the servant King whose kingdom is one of service, suffering and humility. A King who rules by love and care. We are reminded by the Gospel today that we should serve and care for one another and in doing so we serve you.

In that spirit, let us pray.

We pray for our leaders and all who are in positions of responsibility. We ask that they make wise decisions for the good of all people. May they keep in mind their responsibilities in all they do and the decisions they make. The news of a vaccine has given hope for all that the end of the pandemic is in sight. We pray that our leaders will ensure a fair distribution between all nations.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Truthful God, we pray for those who hunger for justice and peace. Help us to stand beside them. We pray for our neighbours caught up in conflicts; we pray for our neighbours fleeing from danger; we pray for our neighbours who are oppressed or wrongly imprisoned; we pray for our neighbours whose lives are blighted by natural disasters or poverty; we pray for our neighbours who are victims of terrorism or hate crime. Bless those who work to bring relief to our neighbours and help us to show the same compassion and generosity. We ask for peace in our world, we ask for healing in our world.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for those who are suffering in our community. We think of people who have lost their jobs or who are anxious about money. We think of those who have no homes nor friends and family to support them.  We give thanks for the work of Glass Door, the Vineyard and Richmond Foodbank and their supporting volunteers. We pray for an end to poverty.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Loving God, we pray for those who are thirsty for human kindness. We pray for those who are finding the isolation of lockdown hard. We pray for those who are lonely, those in care homes missing their loved ones, those who are in difficult relationships, those struggling with mental health problems. Help us to seek out the lonely and to be a refuge for the abused, so that they might be refreshed in you.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Caring God, we pray for those who are sick in body, mind or spirit. We give thanks for the care that they receive through friends, family, or caring professionals. Let us pray for Grace Hay, Alan Hay, John Lynch, Roger Mason and others known to us.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Gracious God, we commend all those who have died into your loving care. Bless those whose hearts are filled with sadness that they too may know the hope of resurrection in Jesus Christ our Lord. We remember Janet Hicks and others known to us.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Let us finish with the post communion prayer for today:
Stir up, O Lord,
the wills of your faithful people;
that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works,
may by you be plenteously rewarded;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your son our saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

Sermon and Intercessions – 15th November (with audio)

by church news | Nov 15, 2020 | Front Page, Sermons

Sermon for the 2^nd Sunday before Advent

Zephaniah 1: 7, 12 end Matthew 25:14-30

Revd Elisabeth Morse

The story of the ten talents – money, its investment and its wise use – is a perplexing tale to have at this moment in time when the Chancellor is borrowing billions of pounds to shore up an economy with a very unpredictable outcome. We have been told ‘to eat out to help out’ and to support small businesses by shopping locally but now that shops and eateries are closed, those of us who still have incomes have fewer outlets for spending and those with no income are looking to Food Banks to keep them going.

I am no economist so it is not for me to pass an opinion save to say that we seem to be living in extraordinary topsy turvy times where ‘normality’ is so different it feels difficult to work out what is best to do.  

And maybe this is the point – life can throw such googlies at us that normal conventions of behaviour are seriously challenged. Last week five bridesmaids were found ‘unprepared’ and for those of us who have been living comfortable lives in a well-ordered society it would seem easy to wag the finger.  The reading from Zephaniah describes such a people who have a materially comfortable life. Being well housed, well fed and with money to ease their discomforts they don’t feel they really need to trouble God or God them. So they are completely flummoxed when their world gets turned upside down, which Zephaniah describes as a punishment for their ‘complacency’.

And today the story of the talents is, in its own way, another confusing story. At first glance it can look like those who have enough funds can afford to invest them, while those with very little cannot – which doesn’t seem very fair.

What are we to make of a master who suddenly decides to go away without saying when he will be back? And who gives his three slaves money but with no instructions about what to do with it. Two of the slaves seem to realise that this is some sort of a test and they appear to trust their master. He has trusted them with large quantities of money, they understand it is not theirs to spend as they like so they make the most of it by investing it so that the master will have even more money to do with as he wants when he eventually returns. And it turns out this is the right response and they are rewarded with even more responsibilities. Responsibilities which are considered less of a duty and more of a privilege.

But the third slave has a different relationship with his master. This slave feels his master trusts him less than the other two. He already has a difficult relationship with the master and being only given one talent feels like confirmation of this and he is both afraid and resentful. So he buries the talent – in an act of ‘out of sight, out of mind’. But of course the wretched talent isn’t ‘out of mind’ because when the master returns this slave knows he is going to get into trouble which makes him determined to have his say first. His response is one of attack, attack on the character of his master. The third slave cannot see beyond himself. If the foolish bridesmaids were only intent on enjoying themselves the third slave is just as self-obsessed – in this case with his own failure and resentment. He cannot see that the other two slaves are rewarded for their efforts irrespective of how much profit they make. The slave with only one talent can only see what he doesn’t have and how deprived he feels compared with the other two. But also – and perhaps most importantly – he doesn’t want to change. Burying his talent is shutting away the possibility of opening up to something different.

So, what might we take from this in our present COVID 19 world? Like the master suddenly leaving the household, we too have experienced an unexpected, huge change in circumstances. This may have given rise to the discovery of new riches, new responsibilities in each one of us. What are we doing with them? Are we trying out new ways of growing by learning different skills or dusting down old ones? Are we now more aware of the greatness and mystery of God?

But it does not all have to be about doing and taking on more. If circumstances in this pandemic have left you feeling totally drained and broken then, as the psalm says, ‘Be still and know that I am God’. Because then your one talent may simply be to be open, not buried like the third slave did with his one talent, and by being open, open to being filled with the love of God – and that is a talent invested

Intercessions for 15^th November 2020

From St. Luke’s and The Barn churches, companions in Christ, we pray to God.

We ask you to bless our Royal Family, our clergy, and the clergy of all faiths that preach peace. We remember at this time Rabbi Jonathan Sachs and the leadership he gave beyond his flock. Give courage to all congregations that have no services to attend at this time.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We ask for your guidance for all those in our government and parliament. May they see clearly the tasks before them, whether at home or in relations with other countries, setting aside any animosities and choosing always the common good.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for the ending of division in the United States of America. May all people there find unity and peace during the coming weeks, for the benefit of the whole world.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Dear Lord, let us give thanks for our scientists from all over the World who are working hard to develop vaccines that will safeguard the health of all people.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Let us pray for all doctors, nurses and healthcare workers in our country. So many of them are tired and overworked. Let us pray especially for any known to us.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for the sick. Grace Hay, Alan Hay, John Lynch, Roger Mason. And for others, known to us.

Lord in your mercy, her our prayer.

At this time of remembrance, we think of all those who have given their lives for us. We remember also those known to us who have recently died, among them, Janet Hicks. And we keep in our prayers all who are bereaved. May they reach peace and comfort through their troubles.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Let us pray for our community in Kew. We call to mind especially those among us who face the challenges of losing jobs, of anxiety over money or who suffer loneliness or unhappiness.

Fill all our hearts with your love and send us out like lighted candles to our families, friends and all whom we meet.

Merciful Father,

Accept these prayers,

For the sake of your son, Our Saviour Jesus Christ, Am

Sermon 1 November 2020 – All Saints Day – St Luke’s

by church news | Nov 1, 2020 | Front Page, Sermons

Matthew 5 v 1-12; 1 John 3 v 1-3; Revelations 7 v 9–end;           Psalm 34 v 1-10

Today is All Saints Day or All Hallow’s Day. The day after Halloween, which now has much more secular than religious significance in our society.

Saint is not a term we see in the Gospels, except for one mention at the end of Matthew, where there is a reference to the Saints and, in this context, holy people who had already died. Jesus does not talk about Saints.

So, who are Saints? In the early church it was a term used for the Christian community as a whole. It was only as the church gained in size and influence that it began to be used for people of particular sanctity as a specific title. The Catholic church still creates Saints to this Day.

Over the centuries it has been used occasionally to talk about Christians in general – as Charles Wesley did in his famous hymn, Let Saints on Earth in concert sing.

A true saint is not really someone who is just good or kind or who has had a hard life and coped well. In the Christian tradition it is now usually used to refer to someone who is recognised as being holy, worthy and a good servant of Christ

When researching this sermon, I came across a no doubt apocryphal story of a man who went to see his parish priest after the death of his brother.  ‘I’d like you to conduct the funeral service, he said, and I would like you to say that he was a saint. If you do so, I will give you a cheque for £10,000 for your church roof appeal.’ What to do? The Vicar knew that the brother was certainly not saintly, but the roof was leaking and the money would be welcome for the appeal. The day of the funeral came.   The Vicar stood to speak, ‘Everybody knows he had a colourful life, he said, but, wicked and sinful though he was, compared with his brother he was a saint.’ It is not known whether the £10,000 arrived in the church coffers!

Christians do not have a monopoly over goodness, in fact for the most part we are all sinners and often fall short of the calling we have to be children of God. The sermon on the Mount, which we heard in the Gospel this morning is Jesus’ call to us all to lead righteous, kind, good and Christian lives: to strive to be Saintly.

As Christians we should all do our best for Jesus, try to keep to his commandments, to love one another and to work for the benefit of our fellow humanity. But we can and do fail and, even then, we are redeemed through God’s love for us all.

Tomorrow is All Soul’s Day, the day when we commemorate and pray for all those who have died. The ordinary people, who led ordinary, hopefully decent, faithful and good lives and passed on into the arms of our Saviour. I feel perhaps a little more comfortable with those commemorated tomorrow. The majority of humanity, uncommemorated except by those who loved them, the sinners and the triers, the sort of people Jesus liked to mix with.

All Souls Day is a big event in Latin America, where it is known as the Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos.  I remember it well from when I lived in Panama. In Mexico especially it is huge and they entertain their dead relations and friends with feasts and dancing. It brings memories alive and gives opportunity for prayer for those who have gone before. I chair a small charity here in the UK called the Anglo Latin American Foundation, which works to support projects for disadvantaged children in South and Central America. Usually we have a big Dia de Los Muertos fund raising fiesta – this year sadly it is only an on-line bingo night!  But we continue to try to help the living by commemorating the dead.

Moving on; Oscar Wilde once said: ‘The only difference between a saint and a sinner is that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.’  Flippant perhaps, but every sinner does have a future, if they accept the loving forgiveness that God offers them.  

In conclusion: ‘Saint’ is not usually a word that we would use to describe ourselves these days.   But in the early church it was a term for the community of believers, trying to live out the Christian life. We are trying to do this, so there is no reason for us not to think of ourselves as Saints as a collective noun or group, who work together to fulfil God’s will for his world.  This is a work in progress as it has been for two thousand years and we must keep on trying, supporting and helping each other.

Jesus said ‘I will be with you to the end of the age’.  Through his love and by listening to and obeying his commandments we are part of his body on earth: his Saints. Let us be proud to be these Saints on earth working together to fulfil God’s wishes for his World.  

Hallelujah!