Saint David’s Uniting Church
& Castle Square URC
Minister: Rev. Dr Phil Wall
Tel: 01443 300345 Mob: 07855090360
Website: www.stdavidsuniting.org.uk
Admin email: office1.sduc@gmail.com
13th September 2020
If we were in our church’s we would welcome you to our worship: instead we are worshiping in our homes in different ways, some are reading the sermon and prayers, and looking at the readings in their bibles and maybe even joining in singing the hymn at the end. Some will join in the zoom service at 10.45 either on line or by telephone.
Don’t forget to log or phone in by 10:45am when the service will begin. The service will be recorded and uploaded later to YouTube so that you can watch and worship at any time. Whatever way you choose to join us – we welcome you!
Today the Revd John Bradbury, General Secretary of the URC, and Steve Tomkins, Editor of Reform will feature on Songs of Praise on BBC One at 1.15pm. The episode will focus on the journey of the Mayflower, the English ship which took Puritans, known as the Pilgrims, from Europe to the New World, now known as the US, 400 years ago.
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Church Family and Pastoral News
We include this in the news sheet to inform our prayers.
- We send our love and condolences to Ann P of Castle Square whose brother in law passed away on Sept 5th
- We continue to hold Chris Fennell in our prayers as she receives treatment in hospital.
- We remember Bernice who is still in hospital and would love to be back in her own surroundings.
- There are members of our fellowship who are waiting for operations, and are in considerable pain, there are others who have received the news that they have to live with painful conditions. We hold them in our prayers
- We think of those in care homes who, in some areas, cannot receive visitors.
- Brenda from Castle Sq, who has been living with minimal furniture since Storm Dennis in February will be moving temporarily while her house in finally put back to normal. We hope the current Covid situation doesn’t affect the move. She will continue to receive weekly papers via post.
- English classed will resume this week at St David’s with social distancing and a one way system in place.….we pray for all those involved in the classes.
- We wish Bethan and Ianto every happiness in their new abode! They moved in on Saturday after spending most of last week decorating!
Birthdays this week ….Just two birthdays that we are aware of this week – Both on Monday 14th … – Ray Vincent and Cristina Zuica who will be 8 We hope you are able to celebrate in some way!
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Sharing good news.
We received an email from Peter in Canada with a beautiful photo of the sunset on Lake Huron, and a Good News Photo when he and Audrey had gathered their daughter Corey from Toronto airport, last week, as she has returned from one-year teaching in South Korea. She had a terrific year, maybe not as much travelling abroad as she wanted, but living the life of a Korean for a year was terrific. Peter (Canada)
We will share more of Peter’s email soon.
I’ve had some good news! My eldest son Mark and his girlfriend have just got engaged whilst they were away in Chester. I’m really happy for them both. Colleen
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We CAN make a difference!
In this week’s service, as part of the season of creation celebrations, we are reflecting on water and our use of it. In the script of the sermon there are many links to various reports on water justice and climate change and what we can do to help tackle it. One useful way to find out more is through the United Nations’ campaign for individual action. www.un.org/en/actnow/.
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Upcoming events
(joining up details to come):
- 6 00 – 6:30pm, Sunday 27th September – a short, live evening Communion service. URC Letter
- 7:30 – 9.00pm, Monday 28th September – the first of our experimental discussion evenings in which two speakers – at least one from outside our religious tradition – will offer their different perspectives on the pressing issues of the day. There will be an opportunity for discussion and a time for Q&As. The first evening is entitled ‘Why there is hope’ and will see a local politician and Anglican theologian start off the discussion.
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Midweek Challenge
Continuing with the season of creation; last Wednesday’s reflection was recorded at Ogmore where the river meets the ocean. It was a glorious sunny and windy day and Phil with his friend and dog had walked through sand dunes and forests and the dog enjoyed playing in the river. we were asked to send in photos of water….which features in today’s service. We had a good range of pictures from Oceans to Ponds, waterfalls to fountains, Rivers to streams Lakes, a swimming pool, a well and a tap!
The photos were from Ponty to Palestine, from Canada to Cresswell Quay, there were some incredible photos! A reminder of the beauty of water, and how important it is in our lives -there were memories and places of rest.
A spoiler alert, as Phil would say, the service on Sept 20th will focus on wild life, so our last Photographic challenge for Creation is to send in photos of animals of all kinds but particularly our pets, which have been a tremendous comfort to many during lockdown.
Please send your photos in through the usual channels by Monday afternoon! This is to allow time to prepare them for the Wednesday Reflection.
A Reminder! Please continue to share your Good news with us – Phil has missed this part of worship, especially the chocolates! – Phil has challenged us to share good news about ourselves (we can’t share other people’s good news without their permission), so ALL of you, whether you’re from Castle Sq, St David’s or are a new friend from across the internet world, send in your good news to Marcia at office1.sduc@gmail.com or via our Facebook page – by doing so you will be giving permission for it to be shared on our zoom service or the newsletter next week!
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Vision Committee
The ‘Vision Committee’ of St. David’s Uniting Church met for the first time this week as they begin their task below. Please pray for them as they strive to –
- Pray, dream and imagine where God might be leading St. David’s Uniting Church in this time of constant change.
- Consider how we might be faithful stewards of the resources that God has given us and how best to enable the church to partner in God’s mission of love within our community and beyond.
- Reflect on, research and recommend possible paths forward to the rest of the congregation.
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Thought for the Week
A wise old owl lived in an oak,
The more he saw, the less he spoke,
The less he spoke, the more he heard,
Why can’t we be like that wise old bird. Author Unknown