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Jesus and the Canaanite Woman by Sadao Watanabe (1913-1996).
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Sunday Reflection
St John's East Dulwich
Tenth week of Trinity, 16 August 2020
Dear friends
In our gospel today we read the story of Jesus and his meeting with the Canaanite woman. It is not an easy encounter and we may be shocked by Our Lord’s rough words to this desperate woman. But in the course of the meeting his mood towards her changes. He has allowed himself to be affected by her and comes around to fulfilling her request that her daughter might be healed.
If, as Christians, we are serious about trying to build a better world then we must begin to respect one another from our hearts and be open to the different experience and beliefs of those around us. What perhaps is most truly remarkable about the Jesus of our gospel today is that he does allow himself to be changed by this encounter. He begins by sticking to his principles and therefore shuns her – he ends up being impressed by her faith and granting her heart’s desire.
May we find in our hearts a similar grace to welcome people who are very different from ourselves, to listen to their story, and perhaps by the power of God’s Holy Spirit to allow ourselves to be changed by our meeting with them.
With love and prayers
Alistair
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Sermon by Revd Alistair McCulloch for this Sunday.
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Services in church today
There will be simple, said Masses in church at 8am and 10am this Sunday.
We will still observe social distancing, and ask people to sanitise their hands on arrival, and wear a face covering (this is now mandatory unless you fall within one of the legally defined exemptions). Please also do not congregate in church after the service has finished but make your way to the churchyard instead.
Please stay at home if you are unwell, and do let us know so we can keep you in our prayers.
If you would like to download or print the service sheets, you will find them here:
8am service sheet
10am service sheet
The 8am service is quieter, and you may prefer to come to that if you are concerned about being in a larger group.
You are welcome to join us, and we look forward to seeing you, but if you would prefer please attend our online service instead at 11am.
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Online worship this week
11am today: Mass for the 10th Sunday after Trinity. Today we will again be holding Mass on Zoom at 11am. Zoom allows for people to participate in the service. To access the service you can click on the link for Sunday Mass in this document (please ignore the date at the top). You no longer need to send an email to be given access.
It would be lovely to see you. However, if Zoom seems a bit too much for you, there is a guide to using it here . There is even an option for you to dial in on your phone, the details are here. We look forward to gathering together online, but please don't feel under any pressure, Zoom isn't for everyone!
You can find a copy of Sunday’s liturgy here, and the pew sheet with today's readings is here.
If you are not joining us online, you may like to use the ‘prayer at home’ sheet we have produced here.
Morning Prayer: We will be saying morning prayer at 9am on Monday and Thursday. Please see Zoom access details here. This is a lovely way to start your day with a simple service of readings and prayers.
We are exploring the possibility of live-streaming some services from the church in the future, which will require the installation of some new equipment. We will let everyone know when live streaming is available and how to access it. In the meantime, we will continue to host services in church and on Zoom to ensure that as many people as possible can take part in a form of worship.
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Resources for young people
If you would like to support your young people with prayer and worship, the Diddy Disciples website has lots of free resources, including stories, songs and prayers, as well as more general information.
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Music this week
The words to two of this week’s hymns are in the pew sheet. You can listen to recordings of them using the links below:
- Before Mass: Adagio (No.1 in C minor)
- During Communion: Andante religioso (No.4 in B flat)
- After Mass: Andante tranquillo (No.3 in A)
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Singing in Church
Following a change in government guidance on Friday, we may soon be able to have small choirs singing in church. We need to look at how this will work in practice, including how many people can be singing, where they need to stand, and what protection must be used. We will provide an update next week and hope to be able to reintroduce some form of song in church within the next few weeks.
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Private Prayer
The church continues to be open for private prayer every Thursday from 12 noon to 2pm. If you would like to pop in during that time for prayer, reflection or meditation or just to enjoy the peace and quiet you will be very welcome!
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Fundraising – Help us raise £5K
St John’s needs to raise £5,000 to help us cover the costs of reopening church.
It has been great to hear about ideas people have for fundraising, such as quizzes, bake sales and sponsored cycle rides. If you would like to do something, there is a sponsorship form here.
You can find out more about the £5k for St John’s campaign, and make a donation, on the website
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Goose Green Coffee Morning
Coffee Morning continues to meet via Zoom every Wednesday at 11am. It is a lovely way to keep in touch with everyone, to have a chat and a laugh.
Everyone is welcome, please email Sue O’Neill for the joining instructions.
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Get Voting
Anne Coates’ new book ‘Perdition’s Child’ has been long listed for the Not The Booker prize. There is now a public vote to determine the shortlist and you can find out more about how to vote here. The deadline for voting is 23:59 tonight!
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And Finally…
Footballer Rio Ferdinand was in Peckham last week to talk about Southwark Stands Together. This is a Southwark-wide initiative in response to the injustice and racism experienced by Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, and to the inequalities exposed by COVID-19. The next event is at East Street Market on 18 August. Find out more here.
See what Rio had to say in this video:
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