23rd August 2020
All Saints Church, Childwall
READ Matthew 16. 13-20:
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
REFLECT: Shortly after I arrived at All Saints Childwall, I was handed a set of keys. These keys enable me to access all areas, the church, the hall, the vestry, and a cupboard full of other keys which I assume open everything else! Being a keeper of keys is both a responsibility and a privilege. Andrew, Peter and the churchwardens are trusting me to keep them safe and use them wisely.
In this passage, we read how Peter receives the keys of the Kingdom. The keys to the Kingdom represent the Good News about salvation and the coming of the Kingdom of God. Through the proclamation of this Gospel, Peter will open the gates to the Kingdom to those who respond in faith, while at the same time keeping them shut for those who do not. Later, at Pentecost, empowered by the Holy Spirit, Peter opened the gates for 3,000 people (Acts 2:41). But he didn’t stop there. He also opened the gates for the centurion, Cornelius, and thereby the whole Gentile world (Acts 10).
But it is not only Peter who has the keys to the Kingdom. Jesus goes on to give the disciples a similar authority: ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven’ (Matthew 18:18).This is the extraordinary responsibility and privilege that Jesus gives to us, his church. He gives us the keys to the Kingdom. Jesus says, in effect, that the powers of hell will ‘not overcome’ the person who has faith in him. Rather, the church, armed with the Gospel, can open the gates of hell and set the prisoners free. We can have the joy of seeing peopleliberated from drug addiction, alcoholism, crime and every other bondage. We can approach challenges with confidence, fearing no evil, knowing that we share in a remarkable spiritual authority.
RESPOND: What keys do you hold? Not just the physical keys to yourfront door, your car or your treasure chest but also symbolic keys. We all have the keys to the Kingdom but are we aware of how to use them and show the wonder of the Kingdom to others. Maybe our keys are a bit rusty or have got bent over the years, but they can be cleaned up and straightened – ask God to enlighten you to see how to improve the state of your keys and to find the locks.
PRAY: Mighty God, I think about the keys I hold. Each one shows a responsibility of some kind. Thank you for all that you entrust me with. Thank you most of all for Jesus, who gives me the keys of the Kingdom.
Amen.
Helen Deegan (Curate at All Saints, Childwall)
Dear Friends,
Youth & Children’s Worker –Gypsey-Leigh Tait is moving to Liverpool on 25th August to be a Children’s and Youth worker at All Saints. Please pray for Gypsey as she moves to a city where she has never lived or worked. Gypsey will be starting work on the 1stSeptember and will be working full time for the church.
Welly Wednesday- Mums and Dads with under sevens. On Wednesdays at 10am, we will be meeting up in the playgroup garden foran hour of fun and games. To enable social distancing, numbers will be limited so you will need to book your place by contacting MaryHarrison mary.harrison32@virginmedia.com.
Services in Church – On Monday 7th September at 8pm we will be having a joint Staff, PCC and Readers meeting when we will be discussing the further re-opening of our church building. We have had a weekly Staff and Wardens meeting to review services. The services have gone well so far with about 35 people attending on 9th Aug and about 50 people on the 16th Aug. We have decided that the 10am weekly service will continue through August but also on Sunday 6th September there will be one service at 10am. The services will be no longer than 40 minutes and you will need to wear a face mask, gel hands and sign in. Once you are in church you will need to stay in your pew and if you have children with you they need to be fully supervised at all times. The creche room will not be open and the pew bags have had to be removed. After the service has finished you will be directed to leave from the front of church. Once outside please keep 2m apart. I am sorry that this is necessary, but it ensures the safety of everyone attending.
We have also decided that the Thursday Communion service will restart on Thursday 10th September at the usual time of 10.45am and again everyone will need to wear face masks and gel hands and sign in.
Church hall – We have decided as well that the Church hall will reopen in September for All Saints Playgroup only initially. We feel that it is wise to let the schools go back first and be open for a few weeks before we open the hall more fully. We will review this decision at the end of September with the view to opening the hall more after the autumn half-term.
Church rotas – Currently many areas of church life are all on hold as we plan and review everything week by week. I am very conscious that many of you would normally be involved as sidespersons, musicians, leading and preaching at services, cleaning teams, tea & coffee and many other areas of church life. We are in exceptional times and as we are able to open up more fully, we will be trying to reinstate some of these regular areas of service. In addition to the normal offering of hymns, the daily office, reflections and prayers over this summer month there is a new offering of Holiday at Home. This offers an opportunity for those who rarely leave their houses a chance to be ‘transported’ on a holiday – with prayers of thanks for times past, a poem recollecting holidays and even a soundscape to evoke those memories of past holidays.”
Here is a link to a taster of Holiday at Home- Holiday at Home Taster
Weekly Prayer requests – If you would like other members of our church family to pray for you or a family member, please send me their names for this sheet, please ask permission from the person.
We pray for all those who are unwell at this time particularly for Alan McClelland.
WEEKLY PRAYER MEETING – Weekly prayer meeting Thursday 6.30pm on Zoom. Why not join a group of us at All Saints that pray regularly. It lasts 40 minutes, you can pray, sit and listen or just contemplate.
Zoom Meeting: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/79853782379?pwd=NEloclhRVEJST3RFeUdUVEowSWJRUT09
Meeting ID: 798 5378 2379 Password: 7VUQh6 Aidan Holmes
Zoom coffee – Please note change of time to 11.15am for 40 mins – remember to bring your own coffee! Details for Zoom coffee are as follows:
Zoom Coffee – every Sunday at 11.15am Meeting ID: 842 767 1496 Password: 4allsaints
With our prayers for you all at this time
Andrew Colmer – Vicar – Tel: 07305 842257 – vicar.allsaintschildwall@gmail.com
Helen Deegan – Curate – Tel: 07984 933467 – curate.allsaintschildwall@gmail.com
