Glancing through
the Diary I notice that the first three Sundays in June are 'special'
Sundays following on from a very important festival,
Pentecost, at the end of May. The first Sunday in June is Trinity
Sunday when we concentrate our attention on the God who is revealed
to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Many preachers are happy not to have
to preach on this Sunday, as a sermon about the Trinity is not an easy one
to make interesting and congregation friendly. Here at
Mickleover it's a Parade Service and I am leading it. Will I use
this as an excuse? Wait and see!
The following
Sunday is Methodist Homes Sunday when we remember and pray for the work
done by the various homes that are provided by Methodist Homes for folk in
their senior years. It also includes the caring work of the Live at Home
project and the staff and volunteers that operate from our building and
the other schemes up and down the country.
Sunday June 21st
is Refugee Sunday and the beginning of Refugee Week. Again, this is a
Sunday with a focus for our prayers, and an opportunity to make sure that
what is said about Refugees and Asylum seekers is true and accurate.
Despite, what we might sometime be led to believe, most of the world's
refugees are not in Europe but are in poorer countries where the
resources available are already stretched to breaking point.
The last Sunday
in June, the 28th, is a special Sunday for us in that it is the date of
our Church Picnic but it's actually the 13th
Sunday in Ordinary time. “What does that mean?”,
you might well be asking.
Ordinary Time are
those Sundays which are not Festivals, like Easter, Christmas, Pentecost
and not Sundays that either lead up to a Festival, like Advent and Lent,
or a Sunday in the period immediately following a Festival such as a
Sunday after Easter.
No Sunday should
be thought of as ordinary in the usual sense of this word, they are all
special. Whilst it is good that we no longer feel the need to dress in a
special way for Sunday worship — not many hats, few waistcoats these
days, mostly smart casual rather than Sunday best - worship is still
something special and the gathering together of the church family is a joy
and a privilege for which some people have given their life and even today
others risk persecution and
hardship.
So with this in
mind and on this special day let's say with joy, 'This is the day that the
Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it'.
Best
wishes,
Ted
