News and Events at Holy Trinity Church – week beginning August 22nd

Many people today see Jesus just as a great teacher who provides excellent wisdom and truths about life, the universe and morality. In fact, there are even atheists and non-Christians who see value in the teachings of Jesus, trying to harmonize him with other religious teaching or with general moral teachings. Jesus, however isn’t satisfied with just being a teacher, he pushes the boundaries of the crowds’ and our comfort level, his words are more than just good advice, or food for the soul. His words are far, far more scandalous than that.

When Jesus told the crowds ‘I am the bread of life’ – they wouldn’t have batted an eye. They knew him as a great teacher, and so when he said that it would have sounded like he was comparing his words to bread, comparing them to a kind of spiritual food that nourished the soul and gave them comfort. Had Jesus stopped preaching right there, things may have gone better for him, perhaps he wouldn’t even have posed a threat to the Pharisees and High Priests and perhaps he never would have been crucified.

But Jesus didn’t stop there, he wasn’t merely speaking wise words to build people up spiritually, he wasn’t just providing good soul food – because he followed up his proclamation of ‘I am the bread of life’ by saying that it was his flesh – not his words – that were the bread of life, and to top it all off and make the image even more graphic that the crowd needed to wash it down with a cup full of his blood. Right there Jesus loses the crowd. You can imagine everyone looking at Jesus in disbelief, some with jaws wide open, others shaking their heads saying “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?”. And a little later in our passage we are told “many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him.” What of us?

As from Sunday September 5th our Mass times in both Churches will change.

The Parish Mass at Holy Trinity will be at 9:00AM followed by Coffee. We will keep the Mass strictly to one hour which will enable me to spend some quality time with the congregation over Coffee before setting off for St Andrew’s in Deal. St Andrew’s Deal will have their Mass move to 11:00AM.

Our next Fundraiser will be on October 2nd and it will be a Harvest Fair with Soup & Roll, Ploughman’s Lunches and stalls and a Bottle Stall and a Grand Wine Hamper Raffle.

PCC meet 8th September in Church at 6:30PM. Agenda items to Colleen or Mary please.

Sunday October 10th St Francis Pet Blessing Service. If you have a pet, a beloved animal friend, please come to our special Pet Blessing Service on October 10th at 3:00PM