Sabbath

From the May Bathford Parish Bulletin.

Dear Friends

As you read this I will be beginning a month of what is known as ‘study leave’. (I will be studying, I promise!) The prospect of this time and how to use it have caused me to think a bit about the whole idea of ‘Sabbath’. The word ‘Sabbath’ means ‘rest’. It is fascinating how there is universal medical consensus about the importance to our physical and psychological health of regular periods of rest; and there in the Bible’s account of creation we find ‘Sabbath’ - one day of rest in every seven. It’s almost as if a loving Father knows what is best for his children!

But the idea of ‘Sabbath’ is far richer than simply stopping what you normally do for a day a week. Nor does it mean cramming into that one day all the thousand and one things that need doing around the house and in the garden which we can’t do any other time because we are so busy at work! (I’m definitely guilty of this one.)

In the Bible’s account of creation the seventh day is the day of ‘rest’ - the day when all the wonders of creation are to be enjoyed in relationship with the God who made them. And, interestingly, in the way the Bible tells the story this seventh day has no end. In other words, this is the way things are meant to be; this is what it means to be human - living in God’s amazing world in relationship with him.

Of course, that’s not the way things are any more; and elsewhere in the Bible the ‘Sabbath’ is described as the day to remember what God has done to ensure world in relationship with the God who is our Creator and our Saviour.

Such are the pressures of living in this world that if we don’t take one day out a week to remind ourselves of these things and to enjoy them, it’s not just our physical and psychological health but our very identity as human beings that will suffer. ‘Sabbath’ is a gift from a loving heavenly Father. It’s one day in the week designed to help us live all seven days in the week as proper human beings.

I’m looking forward to my ‘Sabbath’. I recognise what a great privilege it is to have a month in which to study and reflect on what it means to be the child of a heavenly Father who is my Creator and my Saviour. I hope I will return better able to live and share these wonderful realities with the community in whose life I am privileged to share. I hope also that you will be able to find a ‘Sabbath’ time in your week. I know you won’t regret it!

I look forward to seeing you in June.

With my best wishes,

Tim Ling

Vicar At St Swithuns

Bath Word in Action

On the next four Thursdays in May (starting on the 31st), the rector of St Helen’s, Bishopgate in the city of London, William Taylor, will give a series of talks on Understanding the Times based on Matthew chapters 9-10.

Do all roads lead to God?

The Bath & Wells Diocesan Evangelical Fellowship are hosting this lecture at St, John’s Church, Yeovil on Tuesday 13th May. Please take a flyer from church for full details.

Ascension Day

There will be a service of Holy Communion to celebrate the Ascension on Thursday 1st May at 8.00pm

Holy Communion Service Wednesday 7th May at 2.30pm

Rev Rob Thomas, curate at Bathampton will be leading this service.

Holy Communion Sunday 4th May 6.30pm

There will be an opportunity for pastoral prayer for any one who would like at this service.

What is St. Swithun’s for?

Tim's letter From the April 2008 Bathford Bulletin

If St. Swithun’s didn’t exist, would we need to invent it? What is St. Swithun’s for? What part does it play in the life of our village?

First of all St. Swithun’s exists to help us to worship God, drawing on the strengths of the past and incorporating some of the new approaches and wonderful new hymns of the present. An interesting balance to try and achieve!

But worship of God has to be real and Sunday is not meant to be an escape from the rest of the week. So we try our best to make our services relevant to life as we all know it.

But Sunday is not just for the already convinced. To worship God you have to know God and so we try our best to make our services accessible to those who are thinking about faith but not yet sure what they think about it!

And worshipping God is not just for grown-ups, it’s for children too. And so we run groups on Sundays for children from 0-14 (and for older teens on Saturday evenings) where they can explore the Christian faith in fun and exciting ways that make sense to them. At present we have over 50 children doing just that at least once a month.

But worship is about a lot more than church services and church is about a lot more than Sunday. So throughout the week we run a series of groups where people can come and explore the Christian faith together and how it applies to the lives they are leading.

At least once a year we run a course specifically for those wanting to explore what Christians believe. The next of these will take place in the autumn.

But Christianity is not just about understanding faith, it is about living faith and the church is not just about being an individual, it is about being part of a community.

And so a vitally important part of what a church is for is to be caring for one another. That’s why small groups are so good, because you can get to know a small number of people well.

That’s why we run a monthly men’s group and a monthly women’s group where people can enjoy being together, sharing similar concerns and supporting one another.

That’s why we run a monthly Parenting Course where parents can encourage and support one another. That’s why many church members are involved in visiting people in the parish.

But the church is not just about ‘us over here’, it’s about being a part of the community. That’s why we run a monthly service for Bathford’s more senior citizens in the Community Room. That’s why we put on a community lunch in the Parish Rooms for 5 weeks during Lent. That’s why we put on open air services in the heart of the village during the summer and hold a barbecue for the whole village. That’s why we pray regularly for every aspect of our community and its life. That’s why I’d love to hear from you if you think there are ways in which the church could be serving our community or if there is something you would like us to be praying for.

And church is not just about being part of Bathford, it’s about being part of the whole world. That’s why we support many practical projects in this country and throughout the world.

On Sunday, 20 April we are holding our Annual Meeting as part of our 10am service. Why not come along and find out more about your village church?

Songs from the Shows - Sat 26th April in the Parish hall

‘Medley’ singing group will entertain us with Songs from the Shows, followed by supper (wine will be available) and some more slides of the ASHA trip to Delhi. Tickets £7. Please support the raffle. The proceeds will be divided between ASHA and the RUH Cancer Charity

Ladies' Group on Monday 21st April at 7.30pm

This month we are showing the film ‘The Painted Veil’ which is a love story set in the 1920s that tells the story of a young English couple, he accepts a job in a remote village in China ravaged by a deadly epidemic, and takes her along. Why not invite a friend along, we expect to see a huge crowd!

MEN at St Swithun’s 2008 Programme

Thurs 27th March
Skittles evening at Royal British Legion 7.45pm

Thurs 24th April
Christians & war: Talk by Col Edward Armistead in Church at 7.45pm

Thurs 29th May
Pick-a-pub: Come for a drink and a chat - venue TBA

Thurs 26th June
Games evening. Scalextric, Table Tennis, Subutteo. The McLeod's, 51 Church Street at 7.45pm

Thurs 24th July
Pick-a-pub: Come for a drink and a chat - venue TBA

Easter Programme 2008

Come and celebrate Easter with us.

Mon17th
9.00pm Service of Compline In Church

Tues 18th
9.00pm Service of Reflection In Church

Wed 19th
9.00pm Service of Compline In Church

Thurs 20th
9.30am Bathford School Service In Church
8.00pm Holy Communion In Church

Fri 21st
9.30am Children’s Activity Morning In Church.
10.30am Walk of Witness from Gardens In Batheaston up Solsbury Hill.
12 noon Act of Witness on the top of Solsbury Hill.
2.00pm An hour at the Cross In Church. Reflections, hymns and prayers.

22 Mar
8:15 am Holy Communion
10:00am Family Communion follower by Easter Egg Hunt.
6:30pm Easter Praise

Scubed Programme Spring 2008

Sat 19th Jan
Skittles evening with live TV coverage on Latvian Television. Big exciting prizes. Please note that there will be no nosh at this event.

Sun 27th Jan
Scubed meets in the upper room to start a new series of Sunday evening studies. Good fun and informative.

Sat 2nd Feb
Flat as a pancake. Scrape your pancake from the Ling’s kitchen ceiling and enjoy!

Sat 23rd Feb
‘A night at the movies’ at the Chirpy Chilllccottts. Showing a film from their DVD collection. (providing they can find both DVD’s).

Sat 1st March
‘Treasure Hunt’ quiz around Corsham. Please bring money for chippie afterwards. Meet at Craines at 7.00 pm

Sat 15th March
Details to be released on a need to know basis and under the ‘items for sale’ section of the Bristol Evening Post. If you miss these announcements, met at the Ling’s at 7.30.

Sun 30th March
Scubed in the upper room.

Sat 5th April
Forage and sift evening. Never been to one? Now’s your chance

Sun 27th April
Scubed in the upper room

All Saturday events are roughly 7.30 to 9.15 pm and Sundays 6.15 to 7.45 pm ...ish

Good Friday Children’s Activity Morning

On Good Friday, 21st March, from 9.30am to 11am we will be holding a ‘Children’s Activity Morning’. All children from Reception to Year 6 are warmly welcome to come along and explore the meaning of Easter through craft activities, games and songs. After this anyone who wants to is welcome to join us for the walk up Little Solsbury.