Only Connect!

Welcome

A time of praise and worship

Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer

Welcome to our worship today!

“Only connect!” was the watchword of one of our older members.  Founder of the English Speaking Board, Christabel Burniston was passionate about getting people to ‘connect’ through using their voice.  She was given the MBE for her services to education.  At 90 she achieved a life-time’s ambition and wrote a novel about one of the first women to train as a doctor.  “The Brass and the Velvet” was published at the turn of the Millennium and set 100 years earlier.  In November we’ll be celebrating the 100^th birthday of her life-long companion and friend, Jocelyn Bell.

And if you want to read the novel – here it is.

“Only connect” is the watchword for our services today and every week.  In our singing we seek to express our praise of God, our understanding of the faith we share and our concern for the world.  In our praying we express our love for each other and for the world around us.  In reading the Bible we focus on Jesus and the way he opened up for us to follow.  In all we do we hope to make connections with what’s going on in our hearts, in our homes and in our world.

Maybe that’s why my favourite quiz of the week is “Only Connect”!

So just for fun we are going to play a round of Only Connect.

A Ship Halfpenny

A Spider

The 1905 All Blacks in Cheltenham

A Welsh jacket

The Connections

Leigh Halfpenny – injured Welsh Full Back

Rhys Webb – injured Welsh full back

1905 All Blacks played against Cheltenham

And went on to play Wales at Cardiff Arms Park – the All Blacks did their customary Hakka, but the Wales team had something under their sleeve as a surprise response – the Hakka over the kickoff should have happened but one of the Welsh team began to sing, the rest of the team joined in and soon the whole stadium was singing … the Welsh National Anthem.  It was the first time a National Anthem had been sung before any sports match and the first time the Welsh National Anthem had been sung as an anthem.  Now it’s all part of the ritual!  And that was the first time Wales won – the last time was 1963 and the next time will be on 31^st October when we have a starlight party with a difference and hope to show the final of the Rugby World Cup …

Welsh fleece

In the church where Felicity and I grew up we used to collect ship halfpennies for a Missionary ship that linked the islands of the Pacific.  I went back to that church back in May – and there was a young family there.  A space for the children to play.  A Japanese Mum and the Dad was really tall.  Really tall.  I got talking to them.  So what do you do?  I asked innocently and my knees quaked.

I play for Leicester Tigers, he said.

Christian Loamanu – Tonga born, got a scholarship to go to Japan at 18 became the youngest Japan international … stuff happened, he left.  He’s ended up playing for Leicester Tigers – not in the Tonga World Cup team that was welcomed to Cheltenham last week and were playing at Kingsholm yesterday … interesting in that conversation hearing him say how important his faith was to him and how important it was to be part of a church family for support to him and his family.

One of the best things is that sense of ‘being friends’ and supporting each other in that spirit of friendship.

Reading John 15:11-17

 “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.¹² My commandment is this: love one another, just as I love you.¹³ The greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give his life for them.¹⁴ And you are my friends if you do what I command you.¹⁵ I do not call you servants any longer, because servants do not know what their master is doing. Instead, I call you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.¹⁶ You did not choose me; I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit, the kind of fruit that endures. And so the Father will give you whatever you ask of him in my name.¹⁷ This, then, is what I command you: love one another.

A Hy-Spirit song

Activity groups

It’s great at church to make connections – with people in all sorts of different settings.  Over the years we have built up a strong connection with a family who have moved over to southern Brazil where Stefan works to help equip young pastors for ministry in a seminary and Birgit is involved with a drugs project among women – they have hit upon some problems and it has been good to help support them more at the moment.  And will be great to welcome Stefan who is going to be here for a week soon.

Sue has connected us with Children’s Homes in Kerala State and updates us with her visits.

This month we are supporting Mary’s Meals and its vision to give children in education a square meal – that and our own mission project is the focus for our Harvest collection next week – it was great to discover that Sheila and David know the founder of that organisation, Magnus MacFarlane Barrow who will be speaking at the Literature Festival on Sunday, 4^th October at 2-30 – book a ticket!

Felicity most recently has made connections with groups in Cheltenham taking supplies to refugees initially in Calais and this week in one of the Greek islands.

Through Katherine and Adrian we have connections with Langley House Trust and the Knole a residential home here in Cheltenham for ex offenders and will be supporting them during November.

Judi Marsh has connected us with Moffatt who is in prison in Zambia – great to see in Highbury News that his sentence has been changed and he is due for release in about seven years.  We help to support his 15 year old daughter Cecilia.

Connections locally and across the world are an important part of what church stands for … and they always have been.

Paul was one to make connections and then to keep in touch.  Four of the letters of Paul that are in the New Testament were written by Paul when he was in prison.  He was awaiting the outcome of a trial and an appeal ….

IN a letter to a city that is now in Western Turkey, not far from the coast, Colossae he comes to the end and he maps out the kind of values that he has come to feel are the values that bind people together most effectively in a church family … but more than that they are the kind of values that bind people together in any setting.

Colossians 3:12-17

You are the people of God; he loved you and chose you for his own. So then, you must clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.¹³ Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever any of you has a complaint against someone else. You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you.¹⁴ And to all these qualities add love, which binds all things together in perfect unity.¹⁵ The peace that Christ gives is to guide you in the decisions you make; for it is to this peace that God has called you together in the one body. And be thankful.¹⁶ Christ's message in all its richness must live in your hearts. Teach and instruct each other with all wisdom. Sing psalms, hymns, and sacred songs; sing to God with thanksgiving in your hearts.¹⁷ Everything you do or say, then, should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks through him to God the Father.

It’s almost as if he invites us to put on a new set of clothes – it can make you feel so much better!

you must clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.¹³ Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever any of you has a complaint against someone else. You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you.¹⁴ 

In Paul’s day you would need something to hold them all together – some of us need a belt now to make sure things stay up.

And to all these qualities add love, which binds all things together in perfect unity.¹⁵ 

I love that picture of binding everything together with the most important thing – love.

We are going to sing a hymn that celebrates the kind of love that can come into our hearts.

217 Love divine, all loves excelling

It’s all very well talking about all those values … it’s all very well talking about the importance of love.

Sometimes, however, it is not so easy actually to do what needs to be done.

There are sometimes dilemmas.  Should I do this?  Or should I do that?  Think about the story of Christ – the things he does … and that can be a guide.   Are you troubled about that being the wrong thing to do?  Or are you at peace that that is the right kind of decision?

The peace that Christ gives is to guide you in the decisions you make; for it is to this peace that God has called you together in the one body. And be thankful.¹⁶ Christ's message in all its richness must live in your hearts.

That’s all very well … but how can you have that sense deep inside.  Is the instinct to do the right thing simply an innate instinct – call it conscience?  Or is it something we need to cultivate, nurture and keep healthy?

You take it for granted that we need to keep a healthy body … but how do we keep a healthy conscience, a healthy mind?

That’s where Paul has a thought that’s interesting …

Teach and instruct each other with all wisdom. Sing psalms, hymns, and sacred songs; sing to God with thanksgiving in your hearts.

In making those connections with Moffatt and Cecilia Judi has teamed up with David Butcher, with Shirley Fiddimore and with others and produced anthologies of poetry to raise money.

On Tuesday evening we are going to take a look at a collection of psalms, hymns and sacred songs that are in the Bible – the psalms.  And see how they can help us at difficult times.

About ten years ago a Governemnt minister Jonathan Aitken was convicted of perjury and sentenced to prision.  It was while in prison he found faith – and he joined us when we linked up with St Luke’s and Holy Apostles.  When he was really up against it what he found most helpful were these very ancient psalms, hymns and sacred songs.

Explore is the opportunity we have on Tuedsday evenings to explore the big questions of faith further.  This Tuesday we are going to take a look at his reflections on the Psalms, Psalms for People under pressure – and see how they can help us shape our prayers.

A group of us got together last Tuesday and made our own version of Psalm 46 … I amalgamated them together …

In troubled times,

In times of distress and destruction

God is our harbour,

Our ship is safe in its home port

We shall not be scared when the waves rush in

when the sea seeks to drag the mountaints to its depths

and the mountains collapse around us and upon us;

we shall not be scared.

From darkness

Will bring a dawn of salvation

Look behind the curtain of fear

Feel the presence of the Lord

God, your strength looks after us

When trouble comes you are there to help

God is our Protector

He gives us His strength

For God is with us

God is with all of us.

There’s reminder of a strength that we can draw on in all that we share.

One last thought.  Right back to the connections we made with the Rugby world cup.  By all accounts it was great welcoming the Tonga team to Cheltenham – our son Dave and grandson Lake were there!  Great to see the pride the players have in representing their country.

So think of yourself as representing something that’s really important to you …

¹⁷ Everything you do or say, then, should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks through him to God the Father.

We are going to join in singing together a recent setting of the 23^rd Psalm.

Song The Lord’s my shepherd

Prayers of Concern

The banners all use it – a world in union

The slogan is still there.

I wasn’t’ sure whether they would use it as a theme tune for the World Cup again – it has its connections with Cheltenham.

And our last hymn is that tune …

36 O God beyond all praising

Words of Blessing