You are here20th September 2020

20th September 2020

By Alison Hudson - Posted on 19 September 2020

St Michael & St Wulfad Church, Stone

and St Saviour Church, Aston

Sunday 20 September 2020

Sunday Services

8am and 10.45am St Michael & St Wulfad, 9.15am St Saviour

Sunday Afternoon Prayervia Zoom/telephone 4pm

Thursday CommunionSt Michael & St Wulfad 10.30am

Please do not hesitate to contact any of the ministry team

should you need to:

Revd Preb Ian Cardinal 01785 812747

Revd Alison Hudson 07725 467246

Fr John Cotterill 07734 815838

Dennis Abbott 01785 814134

Lin Davies 01889 505094

Church is open for worship

We are delighted that our churches are open for worship. At St Michael’s we enter through the main door and exit through the south door. Seating will be in the central body of the church.

All cushions have been removed, so do bring your own if you would find that more comfortable. Services will be a Said Communion, with just bread being distributed. You will be asked to stand, not kneel, at the altar and follow a one-way system. There will be no singing and no service sheets, but all the words you need will be projected onto the screen.

Please sanitise your hands as you enter church and maintain social distancing at all times. There are no refreshments, but toilet facilities are available.

Face Masks

Current government guidance is that we are required to wear a face mask in church, unless exempt on medical grounds. The ministry team will wear masks or visors at the door, but not during the service, apart from at the distribution of Bread.

Regular Giving

To minimise the handling of cash, could you consider making regular donations to the church via standing order from your bank?

If you are able or would prefer to do this, please contact John Baddeley on 01785 815397, or email johnandpat@allaboutimage.net

Thank you!

Stone with Aston Sunday afternoon prayers

This is a short service (approximately 20 minutes) that we are able to share in together at 4pm each Sundayvia phone or internet.

Just before 4pm, either phone one of these numbers (the cost should be the same as a normal phone call):

0131 460 1196or 0203 481 5237

enter the meeting ID on your telephone keypad897 6759 5340
you will be asked for a participant number - just enter #
enter the password which is 928354

Or join via the following ‘Zoom’ link

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89767595340?pwd=aWt0VjRQUlpGeHkvMHVLbHdla3dZdz09

This week we will be using the Week 3 Service Sheet. Do contact Alison if you need a copy of this.

The Collect for Sunday

God, who in generous mercy sent the Holy Spirit upon your Church in the burning fire of your love:

Grant that your people may be fervent in the fellowship of the gospel

That, always abiding in you,

They may be found steadfast in faith and active in service;

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. Amen

Readings for Sunday 20 September

Jonah 3: 10-4: 11 Philippians 1: 21-30 Matthew 20: 1-16

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.

Yet another parable to get us thinking. Work all day, or work an hour and receive the same pay? I think the trade unions would have something to say about that these days! - then at the end of today's gospel, the first shall be last.

Well, my first thought was, that is what Formula 1 racing are considering, having the slowest cars at the front when the race starts, and the fastest at the back. It will make for a more interesting race; well that's the theory!

If we look a little deeper though, I think we find God’s grace on offer. Question for you ... How long have you been a Christian? All of your life? How long is that? Some of you will have been following Christ for a lot longer than I have, so do you expect to receive more from God at the end of your life than you expect me to receive at the end of mine? I wasn't picked to work for God at the break of day, I must have been one of the late afternoon workers. The point is that, just like the land owner chose to pay his workers the same no matter how long they'd worked, God can choose how much grace he gives to each of us, and I believe we all receive the same amount. There is no first among equals, there is grace a plenty.

So, if we read the gospel with the idea in mind that we all shall finish equal, there will be no first shall be last or unequal pay for labourers, instead we shall all be richly rewarded with life eternal.

Dennis Abbott

Prayers

Generous God, you call all to work for your Kingdom.

Give your Church grace to rejoice when anyone joins in this ministry, may we support and uphold them in their work. We pray for all those to be ordained Deacon or Priest this Michaelmas.

Striving side by side, we rejoice in your service.