27th June 2021 Trinity 4
All Saints Church, Childwall
READ: Luke 21 v1-4 The Widow’s Offering
As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
REFLECT:
There’s something challenging here about our attitude to giving. Some people can give and it has little impact on their current way of life as they have more than enough already. Other people give and it has a sacrificial effect on them perhaps causing them to change their lifestyle. It is knowing that, just as everything we have comes from God, there is true faith in knowing that God will provide accordingly.
It may be a hard lesson for some to put this into practice being fearful that they may have other people reliant on them or a belief that they need to save for the future to pay essential bills. We have to be wise, of course, in our giving knowing that we may have responsibilities for others, and this may well mean simply not giving away everything. But it does challenge us to think about where in our list of priorities is our giving to the church and the work of God? Is it something we make a priority along with all the other outgoings we have, or is it simply something we have left over once we have taken care of all own needs? At the heart of the Gospel is the command to be a disciple of Christ placing all our trust in Him and living a life which is sacrificial and pleasing to Him
There is also an issue here of the immediate recipients of the giving to use that money wisely. The leaders of the Temple were not always known for their probity and fairness in spending the gifts. but this is a reminder for everyone to come to this issue with fairness, honesty and gratitude.
At the essence of this story is the widow’s attitude to giving. She gave with a generous heart, worshipping God at the temple. Our attitude to giving should not be that it is a chore or is only something we can well afford with no real impact on our lives. We should be thinking about the cost of our giving; what it means to us and think about it in terms of the grace and mercy Jesus gave to us.
RESPOND:
Do we have a barrier when it comes to giving to the work of the Lord? Do we believe we cannot afford it or it will be someone else who will share the load? How often do we look at our own lifestyles and think about what changes we could make which would have an impact on us? We are called to be wise and sacrificial in our giving and to do so because it becomes the “right” response to what our discipleship means. Is this a problem for us and how can we overcome it?
PRAY:
Lord Jesus, help us to discern what our responsibilities are to You and how we live our lives. Show us a way forward on what it means to be disciples and stewards and give us the insight to deal with these challenges as we respond accordingly. Amen
Alan Woods (Reader at All Saints Childwall)
Church Services
Sunday 27th June – 9.15am Service with Holy Communion 11am – Service of the Word
Thursday 1st July – 10.45am BCP Holy Communion
Social distancing measures will be in place and masks will still have to be worn.
Children’s work – Rock Club
If you would like to receive specific information about our Children’s and Youth work please email Gypsey, our Youth and children’s worker directly, who will add your email to her master list for youth and children. gypsey.allsaintschildwall@gmail.com Unfortunately, we are still currently not able to re-open our Crèche.
Online Church Services – We are continuing to record our Sunday morning service in church. It will be uploaded to our website to be viewed each week soon after 11am. www.allsaintschildwall.org.uk
Zoom Sunday Coffee – Every Sunday at 10.45am – Meeting ID:842 767 1496 Password: 4allsaintshttps://us04web.zoom.us/j/8427671496?pwd=K2dMMnlvTHpwTkxDNEV6bDYwQXBDQT09
Morning Prayer– Monday and Friday at 8:00am – Common Worship Morning prayer service with words on screen. Optional Chat after the service. Meeting ID: 789 873 7449 Passcode: Newsman1
Evening Prayer – Every Sunday evening at 6pm led by the Readers. The liturgy and the readings will be on the screen and there will be a short reflection on the New Testament passage which has been set for the day. Please join us. Meeting ID: 789 873 7449 Passcode:Newsman1
Pastoral visiting – If you would value a visit or know anyone who would please let Helen or me know, our phone numbers and emails are below.
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. – Aidan Holmes
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/8802380315?pwd=cGxQTnQ0QVRjU1gyUnBrYnJMMzZldz09
Please note new joining ID. Meeting ID: 880 238 0315 Passcode: yt76bq
Former Curate Becca helping people in low-income countries to access the Covid-19 vaccine.
Becca Rogers was a former Curate at All Saints who many of you will know. She has set up a crowd funding site to try and raise 2K to assist with helping poorer countries pay for Covid vaccines. She has already raised nearly 28K to date, which is quite an achievement!
Becca says “The inequality in our world is desperate, but there are things we can do”
If you would like to know more and read what Becca has said please use the link below.
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/donatethecostofyourvaccine
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. Please pray for all those who are unwell at this time particularly praying for Nicoli Gray (Carole Turner’s daughter), David Miller, Shirley Powell, Patricia Horne and Hazel Watson.
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
Gypsey Tait – Youth & Children’s Worker – Tel: 07961 793435 –gypsey.allsaintschildwall@gmail.com
Bill Forster – Associate Minister – william.forster1@btinternet.com
Adeyinka Olushonde – Ordinand – adeyinka.allsaintschildwall@gmail.com
Liverpool Youth for Christ summer fundraiser taking place on 17thJuly
We believe in young people and believe in those who work with them. We work across schools, churches and events to reach young people with good news, hope and the message of a God who loves them. We’re about seeing young people’s lives changed by Jesus. Will you join us?
We can only do what we do with the generous giving of individuals and churches. We’d love you to consider partnering with us in this way. We are truly grateful for your churches support and encouragement over the years. Thank you! Kate Yates Centre DirectorThe team are taking on a HALF MARATHON!! Kate will be running and Lydia will be walking (plus an extra mile or so!) The route will be for the main part along the Leeds-Liverpool canal in to town. The runners will be heading off from Emmanuel church, Fazakerley and the walkers from Maricourt High School, Maghull ending in town.
10% of the total raised will be given to the amazing Safe Families – a charity in the North West doing wonderful things.
Friends of Liverpool Youth for Christ are joining in and there’s still plenty of time to get involved. You can join us along the route to cheer us on, come along for a stretch of the distance either running or walking or take on the whole half marathon challenge!
If you’d like to get involved running or walking or cheering us on along the route then contact team@liverpool.yfc.co.uk<mailto:team@liverpool.yfc.co.uk> If you’d like to sponsor the team then head to liverpool.yfc.co.uk/miles<http://liverpool.yfc.co.uk/miles>
