16^th February

3^rd Sunday before Lent

Collect

Almighty God, who alone can bring order to the unruly wills and passions of sinful humanity: give your people grace so to love what you command and to desire what you promise, that, among the many changes of this world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Readings

Old Testament                        Jeremiah 17. ^5-10.

New Testament                      1 Corinthians 15. ^12-20.

Gospel                                      Luke 6. ^17-26.

Taxation, together with death, as they say, are the only certainties in life. The use of taxation to bring about social change is often the aim of governments, often easily concealed. President Trump has already demonstrated this. Next year on July 4th. Americans will celebrate 250 years since the Declaration of Independ ence. One reason America rose up against the British Parliament in 1775 was because, as John Adams, the first President to occupy the White House put it, “A Parliament of Great Britain can have no more right to tax the colonies than a Parliament of Paris.” The War of Independence divided families formerly regard ing Britain as home. Some saw it as a way of gaining the same freedoms as their families still living in England, while others wanted a form of independent democra cy for an independent state. Today the world is coming to terms with a President who behaves in much the same thoughtless way that George III once did 250 years ago. In the days of Jesus, Roman authority sub-contracted the collecting of taxes. Wealthy individuals bought the right to collect not only the due tax, but to add their commission to the tax. They then sold on this right to the real tax collectors, the ‘Publicans’, usually Jews, who were raising tax for an oppressor occupying God’s Land. Taxation inadvertently created that element of religious outrage which led to hatred of all that Rome represented. So let us remember the Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde’s sermon which led Trump to decide she was a “Radical Left hard line Trump hater”. But then, so would have been John the Baptist that well-known Radical Left hard line Herod hater. The Bishop said later, “I regret that it was something that has caused the kind of response that it has, in the sense that it actually confirmed the very thing that I was speaking of earlier, which is our tendency to jump to outrage and not speak to one another with respect. But no, I won’t apologize for what I said.”. She reminds us that for Christians the politically motivated tariff was once paid in full on a Roman cross. Trump didn’t like her plea that he should show mercy. Neither would Emperor Nero have done in his day.                                                           Brian

Services next Sunday – 23^rd February – 2^nd Sunday before Lent

Forthcoming Services & Events

UPTON BISHOP. Quiz Night & Sausage Supper, 28^th February 6.30 p.m. @ Millenium Hall. Tickets £10.00, Olivia 07496685960 or Jane 07989572356

WESTON: Bingo!! Friday 21^st March @ Weston Under Penyard Village Hall, doors open at 6.45 pm for eyes down at 7.30 pm. Tea and cake available at half time. Raffle. All proceeds in aid of Weston Church.

WESTON: Bible study at Tony & Mary Pitt’s, 2^nd & 4^th Thursday of each month, Penyard Rise Weston under Penyard HR9 7PH Phone: 768181

UPTON BISHOP have a BCP communion Service at 9.30 am on the first Wednesday of each month. A quiet midweek service. All welcome”

Do you have too many Christian books?

Book Aid is a charity which aim is to make Bibles and Christian Literature available at locally affordable prices for those who long to strengthen their faith through reading the Bible and other Christian literature. To this end, they send books globally to our partner bookshops as well as sell books in the UK. If anyone has Christian books and Bibles on their shelves that they no longer need, please consider donating to Book Aid.  The nearest collection point is in Cheltenham, and I was hoping to take a boxful over to them in early March, so if you would like to contribute, please drop off at St Mary’s Linton, or with me.  I find it a useful preparation before Lent to look through the bookcase and see what I might reread over Lent rather than buying something new. Many Thanks Charlotte

Please be aware that if you have any events you would like to advertise here, do please contact Debs

directly (details below) and she will be pleased to include them.                                                 

Please pray for all who are sick, Margaret Minnet (AI)

Please pray for all who have died, John Stanier (UB) Jackie Hopkins (Lea) Joyce Anderson (Lin)

Rev David Howell 01989 568736    email:   revdavidhowell@btinternet.com

If you would like to receive this pew sheet via email¸ please email Debs debsparishsecretary@outlook.com