General Chat

Good morning :-)

The Collect (special prayer) for today :

Most merciful God,
who by the death and resurrection of thy Son Jesus Christ
hast delivered and saved the world:
grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross
we may triumph in the power of his victory;
through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

God, we come with hesitant steps and uncertain motives, to sweep out the corners where sin has accumulated and uncover the ways we have strayed from your truth.

Expose the empty and barren places where we don’t allow you to enter. Reveal our half-hearted struggles where we have been indifferent to the suffering of others.

Nurture the faint stirrings of new life where your spirit has begun to grow. Let your healing light transform us into the image of your Son. For you alone can bring new life and make us whole. Amen


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

I have a hairdresser's appointment - in 5 weeks!! It will be goodbye to the Albert Einstein look!


For Lent.


"Lent stimulates us to let the Word of God penetrate our life and, in this way, to know the fundamental truth: Who we are, where we come from, where we must go, what path we must take in life." - Pope Benedict XVI


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


Lent:


O God, you see that we have no strength in ourselves.
Keep us both outwardly and inwardly.
Defend us from all adversities which hurt the body,
and cleanse us from all evil thoughts which afflict the mind;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


Kandj, that's great news and I am so pleased for you. We are still waiting to hear what is happening in our area but I know where I will be going if my church stays closed. As for the hymn, that is actually a new one on me - one lives and learns! :-D

Lent.

Lent is a time for discipline, for confession, for honesty, not because God is mean or fault- finding or finger-pointing but because he wants us to know the joy of being cleaned out, ready for all the good things he now has in store. - N.T. Wright

Cx :-)

Hello all

Our church is planned to open on Easter Sunday and I'm already counting down the days. Woohoo!!

I doubt we will be allowed to sing then but one of my favourite Lenten hymns is this one..................

How deep the Father's love for us?
How vast beyond all measure?
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure.

How great the pain of searing loss?
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory.

Behold the man upon the cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers.

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection.

Sending out gentle hugs for all in need today.

Good morning :-)


A hymn which is often sung during Lent - it gives us a reminder of our Christian responsibilities and encourages us along the way.


1 "Take up your cross," the Saviour said,
"if you would my disciple be;
take up your cross with willing heart,
and humbly follow after me."

2 Take up your cross; let not its weight
fill your weak spirit with alarm;
Christ's strength shall bear your spirit up
and brace your heart and nerve your arm.

3 Take up your cross, heed not the shame,
and let your foolish heart be still;
the Lord for you accepted death
upon a cross, on Calv'ry's hill.

4 Take up your cross, then, in Christ's strength,
and calmly ev'ry danger brave:
it guides you to abundant life
and leads to vict'ry o'er the grave.



Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Good heaven's Vera, your poor friend and what she must have gone through at those sad times bless her heart. <3


Our Lent prayer for today :


God, I pray for my prayer life to become vibrant and strong in this season of Lent. I pray that your voice, even though a whisper, would ring loud and true in my life. I pray for the courage and boldness to follow wherever you lead, to love and serve whomever and however you invite me. Amen.

Cx :-)

A beautiful prayer Cynthia.

Vera, that is so very sad. It must be devastating.

A relative lost her first baby to S.I.D at 10 weeks old.

Eventually, she and her husband were fortunate to have a daughter and a son, but many years later the Mum told me that her thoughts on Mothering Sunday always return to the little one, who first made her a mother.

A loud Amen to your prayer Cynthia.

I am thinking particularly today of my German friend who now has dementia. Sadly she lost her first child, a little boy, to an inherited disease when he was only 8 months old. She later adopted a boy and a girl. In his 20s both the boy and his fiancée were killed in a terrible autobahn accident caused by a driver who fell asleep at the wheel. I just cannot imagine how you get over such losses.

I can only echo today’s prayer and send my love and thoughts to mothers everywhere <3

Good morning :-)


Happy Mothering Sunday.....and a special prayer for this special day....



Loving God,
Thank you for mums, for those who have mothered us
and for all the joy of family life.
We pray especially for all who find Mothering Sunday painful:
We pray for mothers who watch over children who are ill
and children who watch over their suffering mothers;
We remember mothers who are apart from their children
and mothers who grieve because their children have died.
Be with those who are grieving because they have no mother;
Be close to those who are struggling because they have no children;
Be near to those who are sad because they are far apart from those they love.
Let your love be present in every home,
And help your church to have eyes to see and ears to hear the needs of all who come.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.


Cx :-)

Hello all

Amen to your morning prayer Cynthia.

Tabitha, I hope that your worrying work situation changes for the better before too long.

Blowing a gale here, take care and stay safe folks.

Good morning :-)

There are some very strange ideas out there for sure Tabitha. I do hope you manage to get something sorted sooner rather than later. <3



Free me, Lord Jesus, from anything that obstructs my way to you. Clear away the clutter of petty grudges. Remove smudges of resentment and bitterness. Cleanse me of thoughts filled with anger, envy or self-pity.

Create space in my life for more kindness and less spitefulness, greater generosity and few self-centred needs, stronger compassion and weakened judgement of others.

Enlarge my heart with a spirit of gratitude this Lent, so that I recognise the simple gifts that lay in abundance all around me.

In your sacred name I pray. Amen.

Cx :-)

Hope everyone is keeping well - love popping in Cynthia to see how everyone is.

Still looking for a job - nothing out there - may end up just taking the money and surviving for a couple of months till the situation improves. I know i wont get one on the pay i have been on as been there 26 years.

Only have another 4 years 6 months till the gov issue me with the state pension, wish they could have waited till then. I may have managed to put some savings together.

Never mind everything happens for a reason and i had outgrown the department, too many young managers and strange ideas.


Take care everyone - have a good weekend. <3 <3 <3 ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-)

Good morning :-)


Lent is not for the faint-hearted
It demands that we, like Thomas,
Put our hands into the side of the crucified Christ.
Lent is a journey towards the cross,
A journey of enlightenment
From wilderness to feast,
From desert to oasis.
It’s an attempt to identify with the powerless
And the suffering in the world.

Lent is not tidy.
The days grow longer,
The ground thaws, there’s mud and dirt everywhere
And the windows need cleaning.

Lent is a journey.
So that at the end of Lent
We should expect to find ourselves
Somewhere different from where we started.

Lent can be an opportunity
To explore what is the nature
Of the promised Kingdom of God on earth
That we long for.
A time to discern
How we are called to work for it.
No, Lent is not for the faint-hearted.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


Just a few words for today :



Lenten practices of giving up pleasures
are a good reminder that the purpose of life is not pleasure.
The purpose of life is to attain a perfect life, all truth and undying ecstatic love—which is the definition of God. In pursuing that happiness, we find happiness."

- Bishop Fulton Sheen.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


Another hymn which is so pertinent for this Lenten season…..if you don't know the tune, just read the words - they are so apt.


1 Christian, seek not yet repose;
Hear thy guardian angel say,
'Thou art in the midst of foes:
Watch and pray.'

2 Principalities and powers,
Mustering their unseen array,
Wait for thy unguarded hours:
Watch and pray.

3 Gird thy heavenly armour on;
Wear it ever, night and day;
Ambushed lies the evil one:
Watch and pray.

4 Hear the victors who o'ercame;
Still they mark each warrior's way;
All with one sweet voice proclaim,
'Watch and pray.'

5 Hear, above all, hear the Lord,
Him thou lovest to obey;
Hide within thy heart His word,
'Watch and pray.'

6 Watch, as if on that alone
Hung the issue of the day:
Pray that help may be sent down:
Watch and pray.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


"Come to me all you who are burdened
and I will give you rest"
Here I am, Lord.
I come to seek Your presence.
I long for your healing power.
Fill me with Your Holy Spirit Lord,
so that I may have inner freedom.
Let your Spirit instil in my heart this Lent,
a desire to know and love you more each day. Amen.


Cx :-)

Hello All

Happy International Women's Day to everyone.

Vera, I hope you and your OH are well?

I had planned to pull some weeds in the garden but "rain stopped play" and so the gardening is delayed until another time.

Stay warm and keep safe.

Good morning :-)


Don't worry Vera, just as long as the words help someone, that's fine by me. It's nice to have a little chat now and then though :-D



Lent is a tree without blossom, without leaf,
Barer than blackthorn in its winter sleep,
All unadorned. Unlike Christmas which decrees
The setting-up, the dressing-up of trees,
Lent is a taking down, a stripping bare,
A starkness after all has been withdrawn
Of surplus and superfluous,
Leaving no hiding-place, only an emptiness
Between black branches, a most precious space
Before the leaf, before the time of flowers;
Lest we should see only the leaf, the flower,
Lest we should miss the stars.


Cx :-)