27th October 2019

The Parish Churches of

St Michael & St Wulfad, Stone, with

St Saviour Aston by Stone

            Many years ago, without thinking, I forced a piece of frozen bread into a toaster. As I turned it on, there was a blue flash, as it shorted across the elements – and that was the end of that! You might say the toaster had “given up the ghost.”

            A commonplace expression – but do you know from where it comes? In fact, it is from the King James Bible: as Jesus dies on the cross, according to St Mark, he “gave up the ghost.”  So many of our expressions, both modern and ancient are still biblically based!

            So how well do you know your Bible? It’s not really good  enough to say “I hear it in church each Sunday” If we went to every Morning and Evening Prayer and never missed a Sunday, we would still only have read about 1/3 of Holy Scripture in a 3 year period! I remember hearing a sermon from a wise old Priest in which it was said that, to say we were an expert cook on the basis of watching all the TV cookery programmes would be a similar claim.  No, the point is that we are called to engage with our faith through Scripture, not just to spectate. As the old Collect from the Book of Common Prayer says, we are to “Read, Mark, Learn and inwardly digest.”

            This Sunday is “Bible Sunday” – a day in which to review our use of Holy Writ. It’s also a time to think about the value we put on our Bibles:- think of William Tyndale, going to the stake for the “sin” of printing the Bible in English – and the many, many others who smuggled them, risked their lives and faced considerable dangers in order for us to have it today.

Ian Cardinal

Hymns for today

                        Aston                          Stone

            393                              85

            56                                296

                        237                              237

426/10                        386/10

464                              427

Please pray for the sick in the benefice:

Mary Townsend,  Elsie Richardson, Vera Tomkinson, Neil & Pat Wynne, Gary Kelsall, John Richardson, Peter Bowler,  Catherine Ritchie,  Graham Baker,  James Astle, Miles Brain,  John & Ann Shuttleworth,  Evelyn Cotterill, Margaret Wright, Gren Deakin, Margaret Bott, Molly Wright, Norman Latham, Joan Lazonby, Richard Stephens

And for the departed:

Margaret Griffiths, Brian Dominic, Ken Bentley, Roy Farnell, Pearl Sunderland, George Washington, Eva McNulty, Joseph Tellwright

Remembering their families and friends at this time

This week:

Tuesday 29^th 11.45 – 13.00 Drop Inn Café - St Michael’s hall

Thursday 31^st 10.30am Holy Communion – St Michael & St Wulfad

LADIES OUTINGTuesday 17^th December 5.30pm – Lichfield Cathedral illuminations: The trip is now FULL. Ladies can you pay your money to Steph as soon as possible.

BISHOP GEOFF’S LEAVING GIFT.Our two churches would like to make a combined gift. All donations to Churchwardens please

ALL SOULS DAY SERVICE4pm Sunday 3^rd November. The letters of invitation to the bereaved have gone out – and the lists for any names to be remembered are at the back of each church. Do come and support this important ministry

PLASTER FALL IN ST M&W on Friday 11^th evening a large lump of 18^th Century plaster fell in the porch, which could have caused a significant injury to anyone underneath. The Architect is to inspect, together with a joiner. Until resolved, access through the porch is at your own risk