Acts 1.6-16; John 17.1-11

Last Thursday, the Church celebrated Ascension Day. Today’s first reading is one of the two biblical versions of that story. In times gone Ascension Day was a day that most Christians celebrated - I expect there are people here today who remember going off to church from school for a service - or even having a half-day off.

My secondary school always had a service - outside. Or at least it usually started outside; on several occasions I remember having to up sticks half way through in order to remain dry when the heavens opened and sent down rain. And in France, they still have it as a Bank Holiday.

Sadly, Ascension Day now is little remembered. In this benefice only 9 people, one of which was me and one of which was the organist, came to our service.
And yet, Ascension Day is a key festival in the Church’s year. It’s a continuation for the Easter story - the day when we remember Christ going up to heaven to take his place at God’s right hand. The day when Christ takes on the mantle of his kingship.

But the Ascension is not only important for Jesus. It was the day on which Jesus handed over his ministry and work to his disciples - the day of their commissioning. Their work was to become Jesus’s witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. No small task.

But a task that they managed to do. Ten days later, when the promised Holy Spirit came upon them, they were filled with God’s life and energy, and set about the task Jesus had set them - to be his witnesses, to tell his story, to show his love in their words and deeds.

Had they failed to act and continued staring up into the sky then we would not be here today celebrating Libby’s baptism.

And baptism and the Ascension are linked - the Ascension became the day of the disciples’ commissioning; our baptisms are the day of our commissioning. In baptism we are made full members of Christ’s Church, and with that membership comes a call, a call to do as the disciples were called to do - to be Christ’s witnesses, to tell his story and to show his love in words and deeds.

Libby is obviously too young today to be able to put this into action for herself. But her parents and godparents are taking on a big responsibility in the promises and commitments they are making today. It is mainly through their example as she grows up that she will initially learn about what it means to live as Christian.

And today brings a reminder that it’s not just Libby who is being commissioned. Those of us who have been baptised have a responsibility to the community of Christians into which we were baptised. There is a role and a task for every member in the Church; some of us are very clear about what that means; others will need to do some more exploring.

But we cannot get away from the fact that the message of the two men - Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? - is one for us too. We can’t just stare into space wishing Jesus were here still, doing all the work. We too must stop hanging about and get on with living our Christian lives.

It’s interesting that we’re told the disciples work began with prayer. After they left the spot were Jesus ascended and returned home, they and others, constantly devoted themselves to prayer.
I hope that Libby will learn to pray as she grows up, for prayer is at the heart of any relationship with God, for it’s how we communicate with God; it’s how we come to know God for ourselves.

A baptism is a good time for all of us who have also been baptised to think about our own Christian commitment too, and how we have responded to the commission to witness to Christ that comes with membership of the Church.

The two main things to witness to are God’s love and God’s forgiveness, both of which are inextricably linked with baptism. When we baptise Libby with water, we are symbolising God’s forgiveness, God’s ability to wash away the effects of what we have done, the things we have done that have harmed others or that have not been up to God’s standards, the things we have said that have caused hurt - and, of course, we have to remember that Jesus taught that even our unloving thoughts are things for which we need to ask forgiveness.

And God’s love is also an integral part of this service. God’s love for the child he has created. God’s love for all of us, which is why he forgives us when we get it wrong. Loving parents know that when their children do something out of step, they don’t stop loving them. God is the same; God’s love for us never ends in spite of what we do, and that’s part of this celebration of baptism.

My hope for Libby is that she will grow to know God’s love for herself, that she will see it lived out by those whom she loves, that she will experience forgiveness for herself. My prayer too is that she will learn to pray and become part of the church community, and as she grows, to accept the commission that her baptism brings to be a witness to Christ’s love in her words and actions. Amen.

Isaiah 11.1-10; Romans 15.4-13; Matthew 3.1-12

Christmas trees have begun to spring up everywhere, particularly in institutions - schools, hospitals, nursing homes etc. I’ve not yet seen one in a home but no doubt they will turn up soon. And I’ve had several conversations with people who have talked to me about wanting to get their tree early this year.

I wonder what your tree will be like. Is your family one who brings out the same decorations year by year and enjoys the feeling of security and nostalgia for particular objects? Perhaps you’re people who go over the top and put everything you possibly can on the branches from the bell shape covered in glitter that your 40-year-old daughter made when she was at playgroup to a surfeit of Cadbury’s chocolate tree decorations.
Or are you terribly civilised and have a smart and upmarket tree with a co-ordinated theme that changes every year depending on the latest fashion?

God’s tree is somewhat different from our highly prized and decorated trees. God’s tree is a shoot that comes from an old stump - a stump that looks barren and bare, but which, by the grace of God is still alive on the inside, though it looks dead on the outside. Today’s first words in our Old Testament reading build on what Isaiah has previously said - It will be like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains standing when it is felled. The holy seed is its stump.”

From that seed of a stump will come a shoot and a branch. It will have its roots in Jesse - the father of King David - making clear that this shoot will be of David’s line. What transforms this dead-looking stump and gives it life is the Spirit of God.

At the time of Isaiah, God’s people were in many ways like a dead stump - their kings and leaders were corrupt and unfaithful, justice and following God’s ways had lost their importance; it was as if the people were dead.

But God had always kept a remnant alive and faithful, and from this remnant would come life again. God’s spirit would endow this person with kingly attributes - wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and fear of God. This king will be a just and righteous king, who will judge the poor not by the condition of their clothes or status but with equity, treating them the same as any person would be treated, with fairness, for all are created with equal worth in the sight of God.

The guiding principles of this king will be righteousness and faithfulness to God’s ways, two things that are lacking in the leaders of God’s people at the time of Isaiah.
I love the picture that follows - the wolf and the lamb at peace with each other, the leopard and the kid, the calf, lion and fatling. Of course, it’s an image that goes back to the picture in Genesis of the Garden of Eden before the Fall, when all living creatures lived together in harmony and at peace.

The mention of the nursing and weaned children and the asp and the adder’s den also goes back to Genesis - it’s a restoration, a return to the time before sin. Remember that one of the curses that God calls down in the story of the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the horticultural paradise was that the woman and her offspring would be enemies with the snakes who crawl on the ground on their bellies. So this picture in Isaiah will provoke in the minds of people the idea of a reversed situation, a return.

What is evident in this picture is that the vulnerable are restored to safety - the lamb, the kid, the child. It is the powerful who have to change most. It is the powerful who have given up their desire for power in order to lay side-by-side with the vulnerable.

And this is important. It is what the Pharisees and Sadducees in our Gospel reading weren’t willing to do. Their power, their misplaced confidence in their ancestry, blinds them to the righteous ways of God, blinds them to the need for repentance.

In God’s eyes all are equal, but, if we look at the example of Jesus, we see that much of his focus is on those whom the world does not treat equally.

First, they are the ones who recognise what Jesus is offering them.

Second, there is something in Jesus that is seeking to restore this balance - think of the passage he quotes from Isaiah that we read about in Luke 4 - the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

In the ways of Jesus, there is always a concern and a care for the poor and vulnerable. It is something that we too are called to. Those of us who do not bear fruit in this area must heed the warning of John to the Pharisees and Sadducees - even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

John’s seems to be implying that they have only come to him for baptism as a safeguard against what is to come - that they see baptism as some kind of talisman, keeping them from harm. But this will not work, it is repentance that must come first. His water baptism without repentance will not keep anyone safe, because his baptism is not a magic trick or potion but sign of repentance.

We too must repent when we don’t treat the poor and vulnerable with care and compassion. I was shocked to read in last week’s Church Times an article about next year’s UN Year of Sanitation that lack of proper sanitation leads each year to the deaths of 1.5million children. 42,000 people die each week from poor sanitary conditions. And, yet, this could all change within two decades, if governments were willing to give less than one per cent of the amount of military spending in 2005.

It is a scandal that billions die from poverty and lack of clean water, access to medicine and so on, while our newspapers are full of statistics about how much food the average British household throws away each week. A government study published last month showed that about a third of the food we buy ends up in the bin. That’s 6.7 million tonnes. Some of that does include things like tea bags and bones that we wouldn’t eat anyway, but most of it could have been eaten.

That is not justice or righteousness. Some of the sterns words of the prophets come to mind when I read statistics like that, about how those who have wealth exploit the poor.

God’s justice is a powerful concept, and we will be judged on how we respond. What we are called to is repentance. Repentance is not just, though, about recognising our wrongdoings, but also about turning our back on them and behaving differently in the future.

It’s not easy to live a life based on God’s justice, but we have a strong and powerful vision of what it means - a time when weak and strong live together side by side, where no one goes without, where all are treated as having worth and value in themselves. Not because of money or intelligence or special giftings but because they are children of God.

John’s call was to repentance. But he had some good news to share too. God’s king was coming near; the kingdom of heaven was no longer so far away, the kingdom of freedom and justice. And God’s king would bring with him a gift for us all. His baptism would not just be of water but would be the Holy Spirit.

It is the Holy Spirit that enables the shoot from the stump to have wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And the great news is that, through Jesus, the gift of God’s Spirit can rest on us too.
It is through the power of God’s Spirit that we can look at our lives, and in opening ourselves to the Spirit’s gentle guiding, we can be brought to a knowledge of those things of which we ought to repent.

The Holy Spirit is not just for the coming king; it is a gift that is offered to us all and which gives life and light to our Christian lives.

It is the Holy Spirit that will lead us into righteousness and justice and hope. It is the Holy Spirit that will lead us towards that place where weak and powerful are equal and all live together in harmony and peace. And, when this comes about, there will also be true joy, joy in the freedom that God gives us.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Sunday 21st October - Trinity 20
9.00 a.m. Parish Communion, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway
10.30 a.m. Parish Communion with baptism welcome, St Mary’s, Reed
10.30 a.m. CW Morning Prayer, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley

Monday 22nd October
8.15 a.m. Morning Prayer, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway

Tuesday 23rd October
8.15 a.m. Morning Prayer, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway

Wednesday 24th October
8.15 a.m Morning Prayer, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley

Thursday 25th October
8.15 a.m Morning Prayer, St Mary’s, Reed
1.00 p.m. Interment of ashes of Jean Cheyne, Barkway churchyard
8.00 p.m. Deanery Pastoral Committee, The Rectory, Barkway
8.00 p.m. Friends of Barkway Church committee meeting, The Old Post Office, Barkway

Friday 26th October

Saturday 27th October
9.00 a.m. Morning Prayer, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley
2 p.m. Church/village hall jumble sale, Reed Village Hall

Sunday 28th October - Bible Sunday
9.00 a.m. Parish Communion, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley
10.30 a.m. Parish Communion + Junior Church, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway
5.00 p.m. Discover Sunday Party of Light (all-age worship), St Mary Magdalene, Barkway

THE COMING MONTH
(Morning Prayer usually takes place each day: Monday and Tuesday in Barkway; Wednesday and Saturday in Barley and Thursday in Reed)

Monday 29th October
7.45 p.m. Barkway VA First School Governors’ meeting

Tuesday 30th October
7.45 p.m. North Buntingford Group: The Very Revd Jeffrey John, Dean of St Albans, speaking on St Mark’s Gospel, Rushden Village Hall

Thursday 1st November - All Saints’ Day
10.45 a.m. Holy Communion, Wheatsheaf Meadow House, Barkway
7.30 p.m. Service of remembrance and thanksgiving for the lives of those who have died, St Mary’s, Reed

Sunday 4th November - All Saints’ Sunday
9.00 a.m. Parish Communion, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley
10.30 a.m. Parish Communion, St Mary’s, Reed
11 a.m. (-4.00 p.m.) Barley Christmas Market, Town House, Barley
6.00 p.m. BCP Evensong, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway

Tuesday 6th November
12 noon Deanery Chapter, Sandon Vicarage

Wednesday 7th November
10.30 a.m. Holy Communion, Margaret House, Barley

Thursday 8th November
10.30 a.m. (-1.30 p.m.) First incumbents meeting, Barton-le-Clay

Saturday 10th November
9.30 a.m. Barley PCC Mission Sub-Group meeting

Sunday 11th November - Remembrance Sunday
9.00 a.m. Holy Communion with act of remembrance, st Mary’s, Reed
10.40 Service of Remembrance, Barley, starts at War Memorial
10.45 Service of Remembrance, Barkway, starts at War Memorial

 
The painting through prayer day on the 11th August, organised by Christina Pattinson in her lovely garden, was a great success. It was a privilege to be able to share the day in the fellowship of eight other people. We had a very happy and relaxed time expressing our thoughts and prayers in our paintings.

It didn’t matter how good we were, we just enjoyed the freedom to use colour in any way that made us feel thankful and glad to be alive. That was extremely easy when all around us were beautiful flowers, butterflies, trees laden with fruit, a blue sky and warm sunshine. Our thanks go to Christina for her kind hospitality and in encouraging us in this creative and thought provoking way to reflect on our lives.

Hebrews 11.1-3, 8-16; Luke 12.32-40

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Our readings today are about faith, and having faith in God.

What do we mean by faith? The reading from Hebrews begins with a definition - faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Faith is very different from certainty. Faith is about trusting, not about proof. We may not think we have much faith, but, be encouraged, Jesus elsewhere said that faith even the size of a mustard seed could do great thing.

Faith is about trusting something beyond. Faith in God is about trusting God for all your needs and cares. It’s about getting the right centre in your life. Money and possessions are temporary things, things that belong to this world, but ones that we certainly can’t take with us once we’ve gone.

Faith is what Abraham had. Abraham was asked by God to leave his home and set out for a new land. He had no idea where he was going, but he trusted in God. And, he was able to do that because his treasure was found elsewhere, his security was not found in having a permanent home, but in God. Abraham knew that wherever he travelled, God would be there too.

And I hope that that is something that Poppy will come to know as she grows up - that wherever she goes and whatever she does, God will be with her. The baptism service is about faith. Poppy’s parents and godparents will express that faith on her behalf in a few moments. They will promises too that they will help Poppy to experience the life of faith for herself.

Faith can be difficult. Trusting in something you cannot see is no easy task. It’s not surprising therefore that people often end up putting more of their heart into building up a safe and secure home with lots of good things around them than they do in God.

Jesus reminds his listeners in our Gospel reading that we all need to be ready for the coming of God’s kingdom. No one knows when that will be, so it’s important to be always on guard.

What does that being ready mean? It’s very simple - we need faith. There’s no exam to pass to get us into heaven; there’s no amount of good works we can do that will get us there, what is important is believing in God’s love for us and responding to it by putting our trust in him.

How do we grow our faith? At heart faith is about our relationship with God and our trust in Jesus.
For any relationship to grow, we need to spend time together, so the first way in which we can nurture our faith is through prayer.

And prayer doesn’t just need to be the set words we say in church. In good relationships we share our thoughts and feelings, we offer thanks, we build the other person up. It’s the same with God - prayer is about praising God for who God is, it’s about thanking God for all we have been given, it’s about sharing with God what is on our hearts, and it’s about listening - no relationship can grow, if one of the two people only ever talks.

Another way that faith can grow is through sharing our experiences with other Christians. One of the great things about God is that we weren’t created to be alone, and the key thing about the Church is that it is a way of sharing together the life of God. We pray together, we worship together, we struggle together, we celebrate together.

And our faith grows as we serve other people, and find God in them.

There’s a story told about St Thomas:

Thomas was employed by the local king to build a new palace, and Thomas was given money to buy materials and hire workmen. Thomas gave the money to the poor, but always assured the king that his palace was rising steadily. The king became suspicious when Thomas kept putting off his requests to see the work in progress and finally sent for Thomas.  “Have you built my palace?”, he asked.

 ”Yes”, Thomas replied.

 ”Then we shall go and see it now” said the King.

Thomas answered: “You can not see it now, but when you depart this life you shall see it.
I have built you a palace in heaven by giving your money to the poor and needy of your kingdom.”

Thomas put his trust in something that was going to last much longer than a place made of bricks and stones.

This is the life that Poppy’s parents and godparents are claiming for her today. They will express their faith and promise to help her experience the Christian life, a life of prayer, fellowship and service, a life that trust in eternal things, not just in the ephemeral.

But it’s not just for Poppy. This is a life that we are all called to lead.

Abraham found his treasure in God and in God’s promises of that heavenly country, which is more permanent than anything on this earth. Where is our treasure to be found?

Sunday 12th August
10.30 a.m. United Benefice Holy Communion + baptism of Poppy Swain, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway
6.00 p.m. BCP Evensong for Patronal Festival, St Mary’s, Reed

Monday 13th August
8.15 a.m. Morning Prayer, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway

Tuesday 14th August
8.15 a.m. Morning Prayer, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway

Wednesday 15th August
8.15 a.m Morning Prayer, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley
8.00 p.m. North Buntingford Prayer Group, Fern Cottage, Therfield

Thursday 16th August
8.15 a.m Morning Prayer, St Mary’s, Reed
11.00 a.m. Funeral of Addie Farthing, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley

Friday 17th August
 
Saturday 18th August
9.00 a.m. Morning Prayer, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley

Sunday 19th August
9.00 a.m. Parish Communion, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway
10.30 a.m. CW Morning Prayer, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley
10.30 a.m. Holy Communion, St Mary’s, Reed

THE COMING MONTH
(Morning Prayer usually takes place each day: Monday and Tuesday in Barkway; Wednesday and Saturday in Barley and Thursday in Reed)

Tuesday 21st August
5.30 p.m. Wedding rehearsal, St Mary’s, Reed

Wednesday 22nd August
8.45 a.m. Barley PCC Sub-committee meeting, Willetts, Barley

Thursday 23rd August
4.30 p.m. Churchwardens’ meeting, The Rectory

Saturday 25th August
2.00 p.m. Marriage of Jonathan Tait and Amy Beckwith, St Mary’s, Reed

Sunday 26th August
9.00 a.m. Parish Communion, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley
10.30 a.m. Parish Communion, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway
10.30 a.m. BCP Matins, St Mary’s, Reed

Sunday 22nd July
9.00 a.m. Parish Communion, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley
10.30 a.m. Patronal Festival Sung Eucharist + Junior Church, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway
3.00 p.m. A Woman’s Touch - Concert by Ros Holbrow, John Witchell and Danielle Young, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway, and cream tea.

Monday 23rd July
8.15 a.m. Morning Prayer, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway

Tuesday 24th July
8.15 a.m. Morning Prayer, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway

Wednesday 25th July
8.15 a.m Morning Prayer, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley

Thursday 26th July
8.15 a.m Morning Prayer, St Mary’s, Reed

Friday 28th July
 
Saturday 28th July
9.00 a.m. Morning Prayer, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley
11.00 a.m. Baptism of Sam, Archie and George Morgan, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley

Sunday 29th July
10.30 a.m. United Benefice Holy Communion, St Andrew’s, Buckland

THE COMING MONTH
(Morning Prayer usually takes place each day: Monday and Tuesday in Barkway; Wednesday and Saturday in Barley and Thursday in Reed)

Wednesday 1st August
10.30 a.m. Holy Communion, Margaret House, Barley

Thursday 2nd August
10.45 a.m. Holy Communion, Wheatsheaf Meadow House, Barkway
5.00 p.m.  Wedding rehearsal, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway

Friday 3rd August
1.00 p.m.  Marriage of John Warr and Gwen Parsons, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway

Sunday 5th August
9.00 a.m. Parish Communion (said), St Mary’s, Reed
10.30 a.m. Parish Communion + baptism of Alexander Mahon
6.00 p.m. BCP Evensong, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway

Saturday 11th August
all day  Art Expression Day, Prayer and Painting at Old Westfield, Barley

Sunday 1st July - Trinity 4
9.00 a.m. Parish Communion (said), St Mary’s, Reed
10.30 a.m. Parish Communion and Junior Church, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley
3.00 p.m. Baptism of Harper Rand, St Mary’s, Reed
6.00 p.m. BCP Evensong, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway

Monday 2nd July
8.15 a.m. Morning Prayer, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway
8.00 p.m. Barkway VA First School Governors’ meeting

Tuesday 3rd July
8.15 a.m. Morning Prayer, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway

Wednesday 4th July
8.15 a.m Morning Prayer, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley
10.30 a.m. Holy Communion, Margaret House, Barley
1.20 p.m. Class 3, Barley School, visit to church, Barley
7.30 p.m. Barley VC First School Governors’ meeting

Thursday 5th July
8.15 a.m Morning Prayer, St Mary’s, Reed
10.45 a.m. Holy Communion, Wheatsheaf Meadow House, Barkway

Friday 6th July
 
Saturday 7th July
12.30 p.m. Barkway Church Fete, Barkway House
7.30 p.m. Friends of Reed Jazz Evening, North Farm, Reed

Sunday 8th July
10.30 a.m. United Benefice Sung Eucharist, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley

THE COMING MONTH
(Morning Prayer usually takes place each day: Monday and Tuesday in Barkway; Wednesday and Saturday in Barley and Thursday in Reed)

Saturday 14th July
p.m. Barley Village Show

Sunday 15th July
9.00 a.m. Parish Communion, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway
10.30 a.m. Parish Communion + baptism of Evie Smith, St Mary’s, Reed
4.00 p.m. Patronal Festival Service and dragon-themed tea, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley

Monday 16th July
7.00 p.m. Barley Church Times study group
7.30 p.m. Deanery Chapter supper, Buntingford

Tuesday 17th July
6.00 p.m. Barley VC First School Leavers’ Concert, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley

Wednesday 18th July
7.30 p.m. Deanery Pastoral and Standing Committee meeting

Sunday 24th June - Trinity 3
9.00 a.m. Parish Communion, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley
10.30 a.m. Parish Communion with baptism of Mitchell Winkworth and Junior Church,St Mary Magdalene, Barkway
2.30 p.m. Burma Star service, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway

Monday 25th June
8.15 a.m. Morning Prayer, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway
8.00 p.m. Deanery Synod, Royston Parish Church

Tuesday 26th June
8.15 a.m. Morning Prayer, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway

Wednesday 27th June
8.15 a.m Morning Prayer, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley

Thursday 28th June
8.15 a.m Morning Prayer, St Mary’s, Reed

Friday 29th June
 
Saturday 30th June
9.00 a.m Morning Prayer, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley
1.30 p.m. Blessing of Marriage, James Rounds and Laura Hadwin, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley

Sunday 1st July - Trinity 4
9.00 a.m. Parish Communion (said), St Mary’s, Reed
10.30 a.m. Parish Communion and Junior Church, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley
3.00 p.m. Baptism of Harper Rand, St Mary’s, Reed
6.00 p.m. BCP Evensong, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway

THE COMING MONTH
(Morning Prayer usually takes place each day: Monday and Tuesday in Barkway; Wednesday and Saturday in Barley and Thursday in Reed)

Monday 2nd July
8.00 p.m. Barkway VA First School Governors’ meeting

Wednesday 4th July
10.30 a.m. Holy Communion,, Margaret House
7.30 p.m. Barley VC First School Governors’ meeting

Thursday 5th July
10.45 a.m. Holy Communion, Wheatsheaf Meadow House, Barkway

Saturday 7th July
12.30 p.m. Barkway Church Fete, Barkway House
7.30 p.m. Friends of Reed Jazz Evening, North Farm, Reed

Sunday 8th July
10.30 a.m. United Benefice Sung Eucharist, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley

Saturday 14th July
p.m. Barley Village Show

Sunday 3rd June - Trinity Sunday
9.00 a.m. Parish Communion, St Mary’s, Reed
10.30 a.m. Parish Communion with baptism of Hector Wallace and Junior Church, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley
6.00 p.m. BCP Evensong, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway

Monday 4th June
8.15 a.m. Morning Prayer, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway
7.45 p.m. Barkway VCC, Manor Farm

Tuesday 5th June
No Morning Prayer

Wednesday 6th June
8.15 a.m Morning Prayer, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley

Thursday 7th June
No Morning Prayer
8.00 p.m. Friends of Barkway Church committee meeting, The Old Post Office, Barkway

Friday 8th June
 
Saturday 9th June
9.00 a.m Morning Prayer, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley

Sunday 10th June - Trinity 1
10.30 a.m. United Benefice Sung Eucharist, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway, with the Revd Canon Michael Sansom
7.30 p.m. Simply Reeds, Concert at St Mary’s, Reed, in aid of church funds

Monday 11th June
No Morning Prayer
7.00 p.m. Barley Church Times study group, The Manor

Tuesday 12th June
No Morning Prayer

Wednesday 13th June
8.15 a.m Morning Prayer, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley

Thursday 14th June
8.15 a.m. Morning Prayer, St Mary’s, Reed

Friday 15th June

Saturdaay 16th June
9.00 a.m Morning Prayer, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley
11.00 a.m. Baptism of Charlie King, St Mary’s, Reed

Sunday 17th June - Trinity 2/Father’s Day
9.00 a.m. Parish Communion, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway
10.30 a.m. Parish Communion, St Mary’s, Reed
2.00 p.m. Friends of Barkway Church Open Gardens (until 6.00 p.m.)
5.00 p.m. All-age worship for Father’s Day, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley

THE COMING MONTH
(Morning Prayer usually takes place each day: Monday and Tuesday in Barkway; Wednesday and Saturday in Barley and Thursday in Reed)

Monday 18th June
7.30 p.m. Barley PCC mission sub-group meeting, Willetts, Barley

Wednesday 20th June
8.00 p.m. Deanery Chapter, St Mary’s Aspenden
8.00 p.m. North Buntingford Prayer Group, High Bank, Reed

Thursday 21st June
5.00 p.m. Wedding Rehearsal, St Mary’s, Reed

Saturday 23rd June
3.00 p.m. Marriage of John Newman and Penny Baxter, St Mary’s, Reed

Sunday 24th June - Trinity 3
9.00 a.m. Parish Communion, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley
10.30 a.m. Parish Communion with baptism of Mitchell Winkworth and Junior Church,St Mary Magdalene, Barkway
2.30 p.m. Burma Star service, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway

Monday 25th June
8.00 p.m. Deanery Synod

Thursday 28th June
Evening Diocesan Stewardship Adviser to Barkway

Saturday 30th June
1.30 p.m. Blessing of Marriage, James Rounds and Laura Hadwin, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley

Sunday 1st July - Trinity 4
9.00 a.m. Parish Communion (said), St Mary’s, Reed
10.30 a.m. Parish Communion and Juniopr Church, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley
3.00 p.m. Baptism of Harper Rand, St Mary’s, Reed
6.00 p.m. BCP Evensong, St Mary Magdalene, Barkway

Monday 2nd July
8.00 p.m. Barkway VA First School Governors’ meeting

Wednesday 4th July
10.30 a.m. Holy Communion,, Margaret House
7.30 p.m. Barley VC First School Governors’ meeting