Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus! Today is St David’s Day – St David being the patron saint of Wales as well as for poets and vegetarians too! That evening we talked about who St David was, how he had a special skill to recover the sight of others, how some monks didn’t like him especially (to the point they tried to poison him!) – but how ultimately he could prove how through the small things, great changes can occur.
How are St Mark’s marking Lent this year? In sixty seconds, Rachel explains how it starts – with light.
Sometimes it’s easy to get completely overwhelmed in a world that seems to demand easy, quick answers to every situation. The story of Jesus temptations in the wilderness suggests that this is not new: all Jesus temptations were for the quick, instant, easy solution. But each time, he refuses. This is the invitation of Lent: to follow in Christ’s footsteps, to move through the wilderness of self-deception – and to live in the truth of Christ.
Our focus today as we start Lent is on the ash in Ash Wednesday. What is the significance of ashing? Why does it matter that we adorn ourselves in an ash cross? And how can we reflect our faith in Christ with more than a mark on our skin for others to see in the weeks to come?
Our Morning Praise service from Sunday 23rd February – where today, as we think ahead to Lent, we also consider Fairtrade Fortnight: how can we all ensure that those who produce the goods we take for granted – in today’s service, we’re thinking of chocolate – are rightly paid for the effort they undertake to provide for us?
“I feel like there are parts of myself that have been lost along the way, and I don’t know if I can go back and find them again.” Is this how the woman who lost a coin or the shepherd who lost a sheep felt; for these in the parable, this was more than a coin, more than a sheep – without what we’ve lost, we’re less than the whole and want ourselves back.
How many of you wonder if the reading from Matthew 6 doesn’t apply to you? Don’t worry, be happy? If we’re honest with ourselves, do we wonder if this inspirational stuff is fine if you’re young – but for adult modern life, doesn’t apply? After all – this isn’t going to pay the rent, repair the car, overcome the concerns of our lives. Yet Jesus knew about worries, he knew about life – he tells us to stop worrying and asks us to notice the moment. To give our attention to what God has for us now – as He will help us deal with tomorrow when it comes.
On Sunday 9th February 2020, at 4pm, members of St Mark’s church joined Anne’s new church family from St Andrew’s in Tiptoe and All Saints in Hordle – as together, we celebrated Anne’s welcome as associate priest for St Andrew’s church.
We’ve all been at an occassion where we meet new people and have to introduce ourselves. How do we answer that question – have we ever answered that question by saing “I am the salt of the earth, the light of the world!” Probably not; but Jesus answered his disciples to suggest this is what they were. Being salt and light is unique to each of us – but how we shine our light and sprinkle our salt will reflect and reveal the life of God with us.
When you open the bible, Haggai is one of the twelve minor prophets, right at the end of the Old Testament. It can be a hard book to find, as it’s a very short one: but there’s important lessons inside which can help us reflect on the importance we place on bricks and mortar – instead of the living temple that is Jesus Christ.
