7/1/24
Your weekly update from the Benwell & Scotswood Team
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Services this week
Sun 7 Jan
9.30am - Eucharist for Baptism of Christ - St John's
9.45am - Eucharist for Epiphany - St Margaret's
11am - Ven Bede hub service (Parish eucharist for Baptism of Christ with baptism of Majid Okhravi)
Thurs 4 Jan
10.30am Ven Bede
Dates for your Diary
Sun 28 Jan - Candlemas
11am - Ven Bede hub service (Team eucharist)
celebration and thanksgiving for those who have been baptised and their families.
News
Epiphany/Baptism of Christ - Sunday 7th Jan
Next Sunday services will take place at our normal times.
The feast of the Epiphany can be celebrated on the same day as the the feast of the Baptism of Christ. Therefore this year, St Margaret's will keep the Epiphany, and St John's and Ven Bede will keep the Baptism of Christ.
The Baptism of Christ is traditionally a day for baptisms and renewal of baptismal vows. At 11am at Venerable Bede we will baptise Majid Okhravi who has been a valued member of our church family for some time now (along with his dog Princess!) Please pray for him as he prepares for his baptism on this most appropriate of days.
9.30am - St John's Holy Communion
9.45am - St Margaret's - Epiphany Holy Communion
11am - Ven Bede hub service (Parish eucharist with baptism of Majid Okhravi)
Candlemas - Sunday 28th Jan
Those who have been baptised (christened) in our churches are invited every year to this special celebratory service along with their loved ones and Godparents.
Some useful info
This family-friendly service will last less than an hour.
There will be some light refreshments after.
If you still have your baptism candle then bring it with you to light them during the service (don’t worry if not, there will be some spare candles!)
There is no need to RSVP but if you would like to contact us for any reason: church@benwellscotswod.com or 07968 162067
p.s. Do you have photos of baptisms in our churches? However long ago or recent, we would love to show them in the service!
Bishop Helen-Ann's Christmas Message
Bishop's Christmas appeal
This year the Bishop's Christmas Appeal is in aid of WERS West End Refugee Service and The Farming Community Network. Find out more and support the appeal here >
Embrace - Gaza appeal
The people of Gaza are living through an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Israel’s response has led to indiscriminate civilian suffering, with residents forced to move from place to place in search of safety. Food and medical supplies have all but run out; water, electricity, and fuel have been cut off.
The people of Gaza were already on their knees with 80% of residents reliant on humanitarian aid to survive. Please, can you make a donation into help in their hour of need?
You can donate online, by clicking below, or by calling 01494 897950. Your gift will support Embrace’s Christian partners in the immediate aftermath of this humanitarian crisis and to help to heal the wounds it’s caused across Israel – Palestine.
Sunday Worship
Sunday 7th January 2024
Baptism of Christ
(Note: different readings will be used at St Margaret's where we will keep the Feast of Epiphany. Consult https://almanac.oremus.org/ for alternative readings).
Intercessions
Prayers for others:
Maria Hawthorn
Herbert, Lucy, and Luke Agbeko
Ellis Nelson
Pauline Nelson
Michell Wilson
Peter Wilson
Alan Taylor
Maureen Tayor
Irene Foskett
Lorraine Atkinson
Lynn Mosby
Diana Humphrey
Esther Kolie
David Veitch
Baptism
Majid Okhravi
If you would like to add someone to the prayer list please email church@benwellscotswood.com
The name will stay on the list for 1 month unless requested to be long-term.
Sermon
by Revd Chris
Here we are at the beginning of the year. And here we are again at the beginning of Mark. The same passage we had a few weeks ago when I talked about the time travelling we would be doing in Advent. So we are back in the holy Tardis, beginning again.
Naturally, when we think of the beginning of the story of Christ we think of Jesus’ birth, the nativity, Mary and Joseph etc. But the Gospel of Mark doesn’t begin there, we have time-jumped a little further forward, for Mark it is Christ’s baptism when things really kick off.
Christ’s baptism is when Jesus’ the Messiah- the Christ, the anointed one, the saviour- is declared to the world, up until then he’s been growing up, maybe having a few visiting Magi from the East, maybe a couple of incidents disobeying his parents. Presumably Jesus worked and studied, he hung out with family and mates, and at some point it seems his adoptive father, Joseph, has died. But we don’t really know what he got up to for most of the time, we can only imagine. But he was a fully human child, teenager, and 20-something. We now know there was something special about him, but it seems many of the people around him for most of his life didn’t.
He is a human being like you and me, but when he is baptised by his cousin John the heavens are torn apart, the Holy Spirit descends on him in a form resembling a dove, and the booming voice of God comes from heaven declaring this to be their son.
In this moment we hear the echoes of the creation of the universe when the Holy Spirit swept over the waters, when God’s voice called everything into existence. The force of creation is the force that we see here at his baptism, the fulness of God is present in this person. Our holy Tardis has brought us not just back to the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, but somehow to the beginning of creation itself.
For centuries, theologians have tried to pick apart and understand what happened here – why did Jesus have to be baptised if he was God already? Why is he only being revealed now? How is John’s baptism with ‘water’ different to baptism with the ‘Holy Spirit’? Does that mean we could or should be baptised twice? There is so much that is worth picking apart and understanding, but there is not enough time to do it now.
The point being made is that God is choosing to reveal himself at a moment in history, God is choosing to come to us, to be known to us as a human. The human Christ is baptised, and the divine Christ is revealed. And we too are united in the same baptism as Christ, the fulness of creation and God is present in our baptism too. This may be difficult, if not downright impossible, to get our heads around.
In some ways, it doesn’t matter if it makes sense to us or not, it is not about what you have done, it is about what God has done and is doing for you. Just like God chose to reveal himself through Christ at his baptism, God chooses to declare himself through your baptism. And God chooses everyone, no matter how young or old, and no matter whether you consider yourself to be worthy or good enough.
Baptism is the foundation of Christian life. It is the fount from which everything else flows. In Christianity we don’t ever reach a final destination, but our baptisms are a reminder that reveal God is already with us, is already in us, and is always renewing us. Baptism is not something that stops mattering because it happened before we can remember it, nor is it a reward for good behaviour and study if we are old enough to choose it for ourselves. It is the beginning where we constantly can, and must always return to, for in it we encounter the God who created the world.
That is why it is traditional on the Feast of the baptism of Christ to have the “thanksgiving for Holy Baptism” a time when we are invited to give thanks for our baptism and be reminded of its meaning. During our service you will be invited forward to the font, this is nothing magic or strange, but a physical reminder that you have been called to new life in God, a life that declares God’s presence in all that you do. And, most importantly, it is a reminder that the generosity and love of God for you never dries up but flows always.
There are many ways to do this, but the traditional way is to dip your fingers in the water and make the sign of the cross by touching your forehead, your chest, and each shoulder. This is a sign that through baptism God has redeemed the whole of you. If this is too weird for you and it’s a barrier for you coming forward, don’t worry, you may come and simply dip your fingers in the water, it means just the same. Either way, this is a time free from judgment and the focus is on what God is doing, not you.
If you are not baptised or are unsure if you were, or if it is something you are thinking about for yourself or your children, then please do come talk to us. There is no pressure and it is something we are always delighted to talk about. We will be preparing a group for baptism at Easter and for confirmation a few weeks later, and there will be a group meeting where you can ask questions and have the opportunity to explore and learn.
Today Majid is being baptised, this is an incredibly special day for him, and one of the most appropriate occasions to be baptised in the church calendar. Majid, I know you have been preparing for this day for a long time now, I know you have searched for God in so many places before now and that the journey has not always been easy. But today, you can be confident that God has always been with you and will always be with you, you are loved eternally by God and you are part of his kingdom, and his story of creation.
Amen.
Collect
Eternal Father,
who at the baptism of Jesus
revealed him to be your Son,
anointing him with the Holy Spirit:
grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit,
that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
or
Heavenly Father,
at the Jordan you revealed Jesus as your Son:
may we recognize him as our Lord
and know ourselves to be your beloved children;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Reading
Genesis 1.1–5
1In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
This is the word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
Gospel
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark.
All: Glory to you, O Lord.
Mark 1.4–11
4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise to you, O Christ.
Post Communion
Lord of all time and eternity,
you opened the heavens and revealed yourself as Father
in the baptism of Jesus your beloved Son:
by the power of your Spirit
complete the heavenly work of our rebirth
through the waters of the new creation;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.