Mothering Sunday

The readings are:
1 Samuel 16:1-13 ; Ephesians 5: 8-14 and John 9:1-41

The prayer for today:
Merciful Lord, absolve your people from their offences, that through your bountiful goodness we may all be delivered from the chains of those sins which by our frailty we have committed; grant this Heavenly Father, for Jesus Christ sake, our blessed Lord and Saviour. Amen

From Father Nick:
Today is Mothering Sunday, or Lent 4, and most of you would be thinking about where to take your mums for dinner.
Sadly, that won’t be the case this year as we begin to understand what is coming our way. The pictures from Italy are bad – let’s hope and pray that it won’t be as bad here.
What has upset me the most is the way people have been behaving – why oh why do people need to buy every toilet roll?? Its been like that for two weeks now!
Sadly, it’s our very nature as humans; to put ourselves first. The collect (special prayer) for this Sunday asks that: “we may all be delivered from the chains of those sins which, by our frailty, we have committed” At a time like this we all need to come together for the common good and try as best as we all can to help each other.

That is why I have taken the view that we need to run a local Foodbank during this time, so that we have some food to help those most at risk over the next few weeks. Here in Middleton Cheney we already know there is a need for such a service and we were looking to join up with either Brackley or Banbury Foodbank. The current situation has escalated the need and I’m now asking those of you who can to pick up a few extra things and pop them into the box in your local church (All Saints Middleton, St Lawrence Marston and St James Sulgrave).
When we hear of people in need around our eight parishes we can help with a little, even if it’s just a small tin of soup. As Tesco say, “every little helps”. We will have to manage this service as best as we can, we are now in hard times like nothing we have seen since the 1940s.

Evolution is a powerful tool of nature and we are living at a time when its full power is being sent at us. We, as Christians, must first say that this virus is not God having a go at the evil in our world but rather the work of the world in which God has placed us all. During the season of Lent we are called to think about our lives and the way we live. Now is the time for us to live out our calling to be God’s light in the world and do whatever we can. For most of you that is going to be praying from your homes; please first and foremost keep yourselves safe and do what is being asked of us all. Do phone each other to keep your spirits up and do let me know if you have any concerns for anyone a message with a contact phone number would be good – to my email address [email protected]
or otherwise phone me on 07925-419068

In the first part of St Paul Letter to the Ephesians he tells us
“I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him. So that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you”
its my prayer that we all have our hearts enlightened and that our spirit is peaceful as our government and our community locally do their best to help us get over this.

With my love and prayers Father Nick