*|MC:SUBJECT|*

ST. MARY'S MATTERS
Father's Day at St. Mary's
Dear Friends
Father's Day...
One of my colleagues said to me that having a child is like having part of your heart walking around outside of your body. "Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken"(C.S. Lewis) - so when we think of God’s Father-heart loving the world, God’s heart is in a million pieces.

There might be times we’ve cried for our children (or absence of children), for all sort of reasons. And we’re not alone. In the Bible we hear about Mary’s and Joseph's three-day ordeal searching for their lost child (Luke 2:41-52), Jairus begging for his daughter’s life (Mark 5:23), Hannah’s agonising ache for the child she didn’t have (1 Samuel 1:10) and Jochebed taking her beloved infant from her breast and releasing him to the wild uncertainties of the Nile river, and the will of God (Exodus 2:3).

When we have anxiety, pain or worry it sometimes feels like God is far away. It’s certainly harder to focus on a sermon or engage with Christian friends. But I wonder if, when we experience pain, we’re actually right near God’s heart. God doesn’t just know what it’s like to love, to yearn and to watch; it’s his constant experience. With acute longing, he holds back on his desire to comfort and restore, until such a time that we’re willing (Matthew 23:37). He feels rejection from those whose tiny hands once clung to his (Hosea 11:3-4).

God is the Father who never gives up hoping, whose love is unconditional, and whose embrace is always ready and waiting (Luke 15:20); for us and for the ones we love, and for the seemingly unloved.

"...by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans."

Romans 8:15-16, 26

NEW GROUP: CONNECT
The work that we do from St. Mary's and the vision for The Branch, has relationship and connection at its core;...

...getting to know people, finding out where they are in life, where they might be struggling, what their aspirations are, and how we can best support them to thrive. And that is what our new drop-in session 'Connect', which launched this week, is all about. Evolved out of the successful Lifeskills coffee drop-in, the session runs on a Tuesday afternoon 1 - 3pm in the Parish Rooms and is for anyone that we are or have worked alongside. When Covid restrictions allow, we will open this invitation wider.

It is an informal space to chat, laugh, and eat cake and drink tea or coffee (thank you Emma B and Jane P for keeping this flowing!). We have a creative table and it was so great to hear some of those that attended this week, who gathered round the table and got stuck in, describe how they never make time to sit and do something arty for themselves but how much they enjoy it. It is also amazing how people open up when their focus is on doing something with their hands.

We are also inviting organisations such as MIND, Activate Learning, Citizens Advice, Health Visitors and Thrive to come along to offer advice and information. At our first session two women registered for further education courses with Activate Learning and went away with a real sense of purpose!

We feel that in time this is what The Branch will look and feel like on one level - a place to connect and provide practical and emotional support. A place to bring people and their lives together evoking a real sense of community and hope. It feels very exciting and encouraging to be one step closer to that and we look forward to seeing how 'Connect' grows and develops over the coming months.
-Catherine

GLADIATORS READY!
Gladiator Event - Saturday 10th July - 14:00-17:45 - Kingham Hill School

We are so excited to invite your child to a great event at Kingham Hill School, Chipping Norton. This is open to all young people in secondary school years 7-13 and will be run by the youth workers as part of the North Cotswold Gospel Partnership.

Warren “Ace” Furman will be coming along with his company, Ace Active, who provide many Gladiator-style activities. There will also be a BBQ for the young people to enjoy as well as group competition and prizes! Be warned, there will be some wet games so bring along clothes you don’t mind getting wet and/or a change of clothes.

If your child would like to come along then it's essential that you book your place with Joel by Wednesday 30th June 2021 on joel.reed@stmaryscnorton.com.

This is such a great opportunity for us all to get together following what has been a difficult and often disappointing 18 months, we are really looking forward to being able to host these types of events again. Looking forward to seeing you.
 
-Mark, Nico, Tom, Kim, John & Joel
Youth Workers in the North Cotswold Gospel Partnership
Email Joel

SETTING A WATCH
We continue to meet to pray via Zoom at 6am and 6pm daily for Building to Serve, as well as our world, nation, community, church and each other.

Topic: 'Setting a Watch' prayer time

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/98265036092?pwd=VEZqNEl5K0t2T1NYU1k0OXBkV0NIUT09

Meeting ID: 982 6503 6092
Passcode: SetAWatch

Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/a1VRI10kA

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

Citizens Advice #ScamAware fortnight

Most of us will know someone who has been affected by a scam. With technology changing rapidly, and with ever more sophisticated scams being devised, anyone can fall victim.

Citizen's Advice have put together a great little leaflet explaining how to spot a scam, what you can do to recover money that has been stolen and how to report an incident.

We'd love it if you could share the leaflet with people that you know. Let's use this as a chance to exchange tips, stories and experiences - when we talk to each other in our small groups, over a coffee, or over the phone - so that we can all learn more about how to protect ourselves.
Citizens Advice Scam Aware Leaflet for sharing
More info on Scam Aware Fortnight
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.






This email was sent to *|EMAIL|*
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
*|LIST:ADDRESSLINE|*

*|REWARDS|*

What's happening soon?

BCP Holy Communion Sun 28th Apr St Mary's Church, Chipping Norton More info
Sunday Service in Church Sun 28th Apr St Mary's Church, Chipping Norton More info
Connect Café Tue 30th Apr The Parish Rooms More info
View the full calendar