Church Matters – Sunday 11 October

Sunday 11 October

8.30am Holy Communion – St Mary’s, Easton

10am Valley Worship & Ark – St Swithun’s, Martyr Worthy

David’s talk from last Sunday’s Parish Communion can be listened to here

Or read here

“Our biggest fear may be our greatest opportunity.”
— Krish Kandiah, God Is Stranger

“Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”
Hebrews 13:2

I’m really enjoying slowly meeting and getting to know people across the Valley. Often, these encounters have involved little more than tea and biscuits, but they have been precious times of hospitality — opportunities to listen, to share stories and to begin to get to know one another.

The Greek word for hospitality is particularly beautiful: philoxenia. It combines philos — “friend” or “one who loves” — with xenos, meaning “stranger” or “foreigner”. So hospitality is more than simply making someone welcome. It is love for the stranger.

That is a beautiful picture of the heart of God. We were strangers, yet God has welcomed us. We were far off, yet in Christ he has drawn us near. The hospitality we offer to others is simply a reflection of the hospitality we have first received from him.

“Everyday Lives” has become a regular feature of our Valley Worship services. We all need encouragement, and I have come to believe that testimony really is the oxygen of joy. Month by month, the stories people have shared have brought encouragement, reminded us of God’s faithfulness and helped us to see that God is at work in the ordinary details of everyday life.

Do come and hear an “Everyday Lives” story at Valley Worship this weekend.

And perhaps, as we go into the week, we can pray for those little opportunities to offer and receive encouragement — a conversation over coffee, a listening ear, a word of kindness, or simply making space for someone else’s story.

Who knows? Our biggest fear — the stranger, the unfamiliar face, the person whose story we don’t yet know — may turn out to be our greatest opportunity to discover something of the welcome and love of God.

with every blessing

David

To book a place click here

David’s Contact Details

If you would like to contact David, his email address is david@itchenvalleychurches.org

His landline telephone number is 01962 582226

David’s working days are Monday – Wednesday and services on a Sunday

for global peace

for those who are ill or suffering at the moment or for those recently bereaved

for our Valley Youth Day – the organising, planning and that we reach the families who would enjoy this