Dear Friends,
It’s surprising, to me anyway, that Ash Wednesday is this coming Wednesday and so we are into lent having seemingly just celebrated Christmas. Traditionally this season is a time we think of giving up things in an attempt to move our thoughts towards God. It is now medically thought that eating less may be a contributor to longevity so perhaps a reappraisal of what we eat and how much might have hidden benefits. It’s quite extraordinary how little food we actually need to stay alive and how much we overeat in this society. Food is abundant, cheap and often instant so the constant temptation is to just keep on chewing. I’m often astonished on airplane trips how much food is served to people sitting burning virtually no energy at all – it’s not good for us. Of course, they keep the food coming to stave off boredom on long flights and I often wonder if our response to food is really stimulated by hunger or boredom or some other impulse? They talk of ‘comfort’ eating and perhaps much of our intake is to calm whatever anxieties are lurking in our hearts and minds.
So, maybe this Lent we might reconsider our approach to food and what we eat. I don’t suggest we starve ourselves, but do we really need helpings as big as we enjoy, do we need an entree, main course and desert? Think about it over this period of lent and perhaps forego the pavlova occasionally or the caviar mousse. We might find we are lighter, calmer and able to live better lives and certainly ready to splash out at Easter with a big enjoyable feast.
Grant
This coming Wednesday February 18this Ash Wednesday, so our 10am service will be extra special with the placing of ashes on our foreheads reminding us that we are indeed mortal. The ashes are the burnt palm crosses from last year’s Palm Sunday and remind us of the circle of things – created, lived and then died.
As we continue to struggle to come to terms with what happened at Bondi perhaps this short advent poem by John Bell provides a little hope.
Light looked down and saw the darkness.
‘I will go there’ said light.
Peace looked down and saw war.
‘I will go there’ said peace.
Love looked down and saw hatred.
‘I will go there’ said love.
So He, the Lord of Light,
The Prince of Peace, the King of Love,
came down and crept in beside us.
The gospel calls us to be people of Hope even in the darkest hour. Maybe you can find time to say an extra prayer for all those in such desperate circumstances in Australia and the rest of the world?
Our prayer for days ahead is for balance, consideration and listening
God of Comfort,
send your Spirit to encompass all those whose lives are torn apart by violence and death in Israel and Palestine and Lebanon.
You are the Advocate of the oppressed and the One whose eye is on the sparrow.
Let arms reach out in healing, rather than aggression. Let hearts mourn rather than militarize.
God of Justice,
give strength to those whose long work for a just peace might seem fruitless now. Strengthen their resolve.
Do not let them feel alone. Show us how to support their work and bolster their courage. Guide religious leaders to model
unity and reconciliation across lines of division. Guide political leaders to listen with their hearts as they seek peace and pursue it.
Help all people choose the rigorous path of just peace and disavow violence.
God of Love,
we lift up Palestine and Israel — its people, its land, its creatures. War is a monster that consumes everything in its path.
Peace is a gift shared at meals of memory with Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Let us burn incense, not children. Let us break bread, not bodies.
Let us plant olive groves, not cemeteries. We beg for love and compassion to prevail
on all your holy mountains.
God of Hope,
we lift up the cities of the region: Gaza City and Tel Aviv, Ramallah and Ashkelon, Deir El Balah and Sderot,
so long divided, yet so filled with life and creativity. Come again to breathe peace on your peoples that all may recognize you.
God of Mercy,
even now work on the hearts of combatants to choose life over death, reconciliation over retaliation, restoration over destruction. Help us resist antisemitism in all its forms, especially in our own churches. All people, Israelis and Palestinians deserve to live in peace and unafraid, with a right to determine their future together.
God of the Nations,
let not one more child or elder be sacrificed on altars of political expediency. Keep safe all people from unjust leaders who would exploit
vulnerability for their own distorted ends. Give wise discernment to those making decisions to pursue peace.
Provide them insight into fostering well-being, freedom, and thriving for all. Teach all of us to resolve injustices with righteousness, not rockets. Guard our hearts against retaliation, and give us hearts for love alone.
Strengthen our faith in you, O God of All Flesh,
even when we don’t have clear answers, so that we may still offer ourselves non-violently for the cause of peace.
Amen.
© Rose Marie Berger Sojourners October 9, 2023
Words of Pope Francis
“You can have flaws, be anxious and even be angry, but don’t forget that your life is the greatest business in the world. Only you can stop it from failure. You are appreciated, admired and loved by many. Remember that being happy is not having a sky without storms, a road without accidents, a job without effort, relationships without disappointments.
“Being happy is to stop feeling a victim and become the author of your own destiny. It’s going through deserts, but being able to find an oasis deep in your soul. It’s to thank God every morning for the miracle of life. It’s kissing your children, cuddling your parents, having poetic moments with your friends, even when they hurt us.”
“To be happy is to let live the creature that lives in each of us, free, joyful and simple. It’s having maturity to be able to say: ‘I made mistakes’. Having the courage to say ‘I’m sorry’. It’s having a sensitivity to say ‘I need you’. Is having the ability to say ‘I love you’. May your life become a garden of opportunities for happiness… that in spring I can be a lover of joy and in winter a lover of wisdom.”
“And when you make a mistake, start over. Because only then will you fall in love with life. You will find that being happy doesn’t mean having a perfect life. But she uses tears to irrigate tolerance. Use your defeats to train your patience.
“Use your mistakes with the serenity of the sculptor. Use pain to tune into pleasure. Use obstacles to open the windows of intelligence. Never give up … Above all, never give up on the people that love you. Never give up on happiness, because life is an amazing show. “.
POPE FRANCIS
A PRAYER FOR GROWTH
God of mission,
Who alone brings growth to your Church,
Send your Holy Spirit to give
Vision to our planning,
Wisdom to our actions,
Joy to our worship,
And power to our witness.
Help our parish of Holy Trinity to grow in numbers,
In spiritual commitment to you,
And in service to this city and community,
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Worship at Holy Trinity each week
Sunday: 8am Eucharist; 10am Sung Eucharist and Morning Tea
Wednesday: 10 am Eucharist followed by Morning Tea
Thursday: 8.30am Morning Prayer and scripture readings followed by Meditation at 8.45am.
On the First Wednesday of the month the 10am Eucharist has an emphasis on healing with the opportunity of anointing.
Wednesday: Playgroup 9.30am – 11am (during school terms) Contact: Julia Fox 0417 522 362
Parish Contacts
Vicar: The Rev’d Grant Edgcumbe 193 Hotham Street East Melbourne
T: 9417 3341
Website: www.holytrinitymelbourne.org.au Email: office@holytrinitymelbourne.org.au
Vicar’s Warden: Laurie Moore T: 0484 792 134
People’s Wardens: Lynne Mitchell T:0412 592 005;
Sue Moses-Critchley 9486 3598