General Chat

Good afternoon :-)


Generosity Week

From our diocesan website.
Generosity is an important aspect of the Church of England. The church believes in a generous God and encourages its members to share this generosity with others. A generous life is considered a testament to one’s faith and reflects the generous God they believe in. Cultivating a generous culture is also vital for the church to develop a sustainable ministry.

The Church of England emphasizes that generosity is not limited to financial giving but can be expressed in various ways. To foster a generous culture, the church focuses on four key areas:
1. Inspiring people through generous leadership and celebrating generosity within the church community.
2. Discipling members by providing resources, teaching, and learning opportunities to help them understand God’s generosity and live generous lives.
3. Embedding generosity in the life of the church, including its plans, services, and ministries.
4. Activating generosity by offering opportunities for people to grow in generosity and apply what they have learned.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Generosity Week

Generosity Week
In Giving
Poet: M. E. Russell

It is in loving, not in being loved,
The heart is blessed;
It is in giving, not in seeking gifts,
We find our quest.
Whatever be thy longing or thy need,
That do thou give.
So shalt thy soul be fed, and thou, indeed,
Shalt truly live.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


Generosity Week - it isn’t always about money!

After suffering years with a failing liver, Brenda learned that she would need a liver transplant to survive. Though she was 69 years old, she wanted to live many more years and, by all accounts, with a healthy liver, she could. So, the doctors placed her on a liver transplant list hoping a donor would eventually appear.

Brenda waited for a full year before she received the call from her doctor that a match had been found. Thankful that a donor liver had been found, Brenda planned her transplant surgery with great anticipation. However, before the procedure was performed, she received another call to tell her about a 23-year-old woman, Abigail, who had been flown into the hospital that day. Abigail needed a liver transplant as well, and without it, she would die within 24 hours. The donor liver was a match for both ladies.

The choice was up to Brenda, but she did not hesitate. She gave permission for the surgical team to give the liver to Abigail, and as a result, Abigail survived. It was one of the most profound acts of generosity witnessed, and Brenda affected numerous lives in the process.

Thankfully, Brenda was notified four days later that another liver for her had been found. ??


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Generosity week:

Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous; teach me to serve you as you deserve, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labour and not to seek reward, except that of knowing that I do your will. Amen.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


Red Marbles - Idaho

I was at the corner grocery store buying some potatoes. I noticed a small boy, ragged but clean, hungrily looking at a basket of freshly picked green peas. I couldn’t help overhearing the conversation between Mr. Miller, the store owner, and the ragged boy next to me.

“Hello Barry, how are you today?”
“H’lo, Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Them peas sure look good!”
“They are good, Barry. How’s your Ma?”
“Fine. Gittin’ stronger alla’ time.”
“Good. Anything I can help you with?”
“No, Sir… jus’ admirin’ them peas.”
“Would you like to take some home?” asked Mr. Miller.
“No, Sir. Got nuthin’ to pay for ’em with.”
“Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?”
“All I got’s my prize marble here.”
“Is that right? Let me see it” said Miller.
“Here ’tis. She’s a dandy.”
“I can see that. Hmm mmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?” the store owner asked.
“Not zackley but almost.”
“Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble.” Mr. Miller told the boy.
“‘Sure will. Thanks Mr. Miller.”

Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me.
With a smile she said, “There are two other boys like him in our community. All three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever.”
“When they come back with their red marbles – and they always do – he decides he doesn’t like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, when they come on their next trip to the store.”

Years went by and I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community. While I was there learned that Mr. Miller had recently died and they were having his visitation that evening.

Upon arrival at the mortuary, we got in line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could.
Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an army uniform and the other two had nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts… all were very professional-looking.

They approached Mrs. Miller, standing composed and smiling by her husband’s casket.
Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the casket. Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket. Each left the mortuary awkwardly, wiping his eyes.

Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and reminded her of the story from those many years ago and what she had told me about her husband’s bartering for marbles. With her eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the casket.
“Those three young men who just left were the boys I told you about. They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim ‘traded’ them. Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or size, they came to pay their debt.”

“We’ve never had a great deal of the wealth of this world,” she confided, “but right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho.” With loving gentleness, she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three exquisitely shined red marbles.

The moral:
We will not be remembered by our words but by our kind deeds.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)



The Collect (special prayer) for today:

God of grace, ever creating and restoring,
You breathe life into all things
And embrace us with an everlasting love,
Help us to grow in wonder and awe.
To embody a spirit of gratitude
And to dream generous dreams
That. In gathering what we have
We may graciously offer ourselves
To accomplish what you will.
In Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

School’s back! We pray for all schools.

Loving Father, Thank you for all who are part of our schools. Please grant them your encouragement, wisdom and peace.

Strengthen teachers with heavy workloads. May they be firm, yet patient, expecting excellence but forgiving mistakes. May they support the children, playing to strengths, helping with struggles and motivating them to do their best.

Comfort and restore those living under shadows of unhappiness, abuse, pain or fear. May they come to know Jesus and His love for them.

Please pour out Your blessings upon all schools,
In Jesus' name.
Amen


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

School’s back!

School secretaries play an important role in the day-to-day operations of a school. They handle providing administrative and clerical support to the school office by answering telephones, greeting visitors, managing pupil records, and handling correspondence.

The school secretary is often the first point of contact for parents and pupils and must be able to effectively communicate with them.
They ensure that the school environment runs as smoothly as possible and allow teachers to focus their energies purely on providing children with an education, rather than worrying about keeping records and other vital yet time-consuming tasks. Their role is vital to the overall performance of the institution.

We thank God for the expertise of these important people in the day-to-day running of our schools.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)



School’s back!

Where would schools be without the caretakers, those good folk who manage and maintain the school premises to ensure that they are clean, secure, safe and well-maintained.

Their main duties are locking and unlocking the buildings, as required, assisting users with setting up facilities such as chairs, and tables and supervising the cleaning. Caretaking can be quite a physical job but these folk take things in their stride and head teachers are more than grateful for the support of a good caretaker.

We thank God for these people who maintain and keep our schools clean and well-tended

Cx :-)

Hello all

Very many thanks Cynthia. This week's prayers about schools are needed as our village schools re-reopen after the long Summer holidays.

Heavenly Father
Pour out Your blessings upon our whole school community so that everyone grows in the knowledge of your love, wisdom and peace.
In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Good morning :-)

School’s back!

In the 1960s, teacher aides were introduced, then this progressed to the 2000s when Teaching Assistants were termed and became commonplace in a variety of education sectors.

Typical duties include: helping pupils with their learning, often with a particular focus on maths, reading and writing supervising group activities setting up equipment for lessons and keeping classrooms safe and tidy helping develop programmes of learning activities and adapting appropriate materials motivating and encouraging pupils monitoring and recording children’s behaviour and progress helping with school events, trips and activities.


Then there are, of course, Special needs classroom assistants/special needs learning support assistants.
These are the teaching assistants who support teachers in helping children with special educational needs and disabilities. They ensure that the pupils are cared for and comfortable within the school community.

We thank God for these dedicated people who help and encourage our young ones through all stages of their lives in school.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


School’s back!

Most people remember school dinners and the dinner ladies who looked after them. School dinner ladies (also known as School Meal Supervisory Assistants) are those who supervise the activities of children during mealtime.

Dinner ladies assist the children in the dining area, supervise the kitchen work, and keep an eye on the younger children to make sure that they are eating their lunch. They do a fantastic job and what they serve nowadays is very different from when school meals first began in the early 1900’s.

If you were lucky enough to go to school in the early 20th century then you could expect porridge, bread with dripping and a nice glass of milk to wash it all down with.

In the 20’s/30’s, Mutton stew, and desserts like treacle pudding found their way onto the menu.

After the war, tinned meats with mashed potato were popular as was jam roly-poly. Fish and chips would become a Friday staple and Iconic school desserts like spotted dick and rice pudding (with a dollop of jam of course) became the norm.

The dinner ladies then had to get used to serving ‘fast foods’ like pizza, fries and chicken nuggets, along with fizzy drinks with high sugar content. In 1999 a medical survey suggested children in the 1950’s had healthier diets with a higher nutritional value than children in the 1990’s – and that was during rationing!

This all changed and now, every meal has to include at least one portion of vegetables or salad with a wide variety of fruit and vegetables available.

Today’s school dinners look a lot more colourful than they did thirty years ago and they’re much more nutritious as well.

We thank God for these committed ladies who, with patience and expertise, look after the children in our schools.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


That's so lovely Vera, and thank God for that nice gentleman and his welcome to you. Glad you enjoyed your visit and enjoy the rest of your break. <3


Our children are now back at school, ready to begin the new term. We thank God for all who contribute to their well-being:

School Crossing Patrols.
The job of a lollipop person is to walk to the middle of the road, at a suitable time, holding up their sign; it is a legal requirement for traffic to stop at this command. Once it is safe to do so, the lollipop man/lady will signal that it is alright to cross. Traffic may only move once the sign has been lowered and it is safe to do so.

They were introduced to enable policemen, who had previously run crossing patrols, to perform other duties.

The earliest lollipops were red and black rectangles printed with “Stop, Children Crossing”.

The round lollipop was introduced in the 1960s. In 1974 the uniform changed to the familiar yellow coat.

Britain’s longest-serving lollipop lady was Eunice Robinson who celebrated 40 years of work on a single patrol in 2002. Ms Robinson had planned to take the job only for a few months as a favour to a friend.

Dear God, thank you for these men and women who, through all sorts of weather, guide our children safely across the busy roads. We give thanks for their commitment and care towards these young people. Amen.

Cx :-)

You may remember a couple of weeks ago I mentioned how some churches give out warmth while others seem cold. We are on holiday in Sussex and yesterday we were trying to find a pub we had been told about. While hunting for it we found a church and went in. A gentleman immediately appeared and gave us such a warm welcome and we had a chat. As we walked around it was obvious the church was cared for and the chap was able to answer one or two questions we had. We felt very at ease there. Even my non-believer OH was impressed and thanked the gentleman for his lovely welcome.

We did find the pub but I am sure we got the priorities right i.e. church first, pub second ;-)

Good morning :-)


The Collect (special prayer for today)

Almighty God,
whose only Son has opened for us
a new and living way into your presence:
give us pure hearts and steadfast wills
to worship you in spirit and in truth;
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. Amen.

The Gospel story today gives advice for dealing with sin within the church.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


As Christians, we have a duty to pass on God's love.......


Lord, I see faces wrought with pain -
the suffering, intense.
I know not what they're going through
but know it is immense.

I want to lend a helping hand
to ease their pain and tears.
I ask You, Lord, "what can I do?
Please speak so I may hear.

I pray to be the hands and feet
of Jesus Christ, Your Son.
Enable me, Almighty God,
so I may help someone."

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


Children and their teachers are now back at school and some parents will be wondering where time has gone!

A new chapter of life.

We look at you and wonder,
Where have the years all gone?
What happened to our yesterdays?
It hasn’t been that long….

Since you were learning how to ride a bike
And how to catch a ball.
When did you get so confident?
How did you grow so tall?


We look at you and wonder
at how the years go by,
who showed you how to find your wings?
Who taught you how to fly?

You stand before us on this day
Prepared to step into
As special chapter of your life
written just for you.

We look at you and wonder
And then we realise
The time has come to see you,
Through a different kind of eyes

The one that you’ve grown into
Is a gift beyond the best
So we tell you that we love you
And count ourselves so blessed.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

For those who may be feeling a little lost....................


Why is it, when I’m in a crowd, I still feel so alone?
How come I’m labelled ‘popular’, and yet feel so unknown?
And all this isolation, why is no one aware?
Why do I feel invisible? Does anybody care?

I feel so insignificant; why am I never heard?
Why, when I speak, does no one seem to hear a single word?
I, strangely, know the answers. They’re all clear in my head….
Yet, how I wish I could convince my hurting heart instead!

I know that these are all untruths; they are the devil’s lies.
I know I need a moment looking through The Father’s eyes.
A moment: Just a fleeting glance of what the Father sees:
Lord, help me to receive and know the love around me. PLEASE!

Transform my life, my outlook; heal my eyes, like you did Saul.
Lord, send someone to notice me, like Barnabas to Paul.
Please help me focus differently; cast out the devil’s pain,
And, in the name of Jesus, help me overcome again.

Now, guard me through the precious blood that Jesus shed for me
And show me all the wondrous truths you’d like for me to see.
“My soul finds rest in you alone, salvation comes from you.
You are my rock, my fortress” as I quote Psalm sixty-two.


Lord, help me put my armour on (Ephesians, chapter six)
So I can firmly stand and beat the devil at his tricks.
So finally, I speak aloud, “i’m special, through and through!”
so now, believe these words for, God says, they apply to YOU.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


This may help those who are questioning life…..

Trust Me
I sat on the beach and gazed at the sky,
looking for answers to my questions: "Why?"
Why did the Father create you and me,
the sun and the stars and the deep blue sea?
Why are there mountains, and valleys below?
These are some things I would like to know.
Why is there hatred, violence and greed—
they're works of the devil—they are, indeed.

Why can't we gather as one in accord—
one happy family with God as our Lord?
Why is there sorrow, such pain and disease?
I ask You, dear Lord—God, answer me please.
I sat for a while to wait on the Lord.
He heard my questions—the ones I implored.
And then with much love, great patience and grace,
God whispered gently with words I embraced.

"My child, I love you, and your strong will.
I love all the world—just trust Me—be still.
You don't understand—it's not time to know.
Someday I'll tell you, but first you must grow.
With every season you'll learn more and more—
learn all you can with no fear to explore.
Now, reach for My hand and I'll lead the way—
follow My footsteps, take heed and obey.
I'll answer your questions when timing is right.
For now, you must trust Me, each day and night."

-Kristine Stanton

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


I think what I like about her poems Vera, is the way they flow......sometimes, poems can be a bit erratic but hers seem sort of steady - if you get what I mean :-D


For those mourning the death of a loved one, remember.......

Love Lives On

Those we love remain with us
for love itself lives on,
and cherished memories never fade
because a loved one’s gone.
Those we love can never be
more than a thought apart,
far as long as there is memory,
they’ll live on in the heart.


Cx :-)