The inaugural draw of the Billingsley 100 Club took place at 5pm on Friday 4th September at Lincoln Fields. The first number out of the bag was 22 belonging to G Davies who took the top prize of £53. The next two numbers drawn were 91 and 10 belonging to M Stepney and D Lewis respectively, who both won a worthwhile £26.50 each. The second draw is scheduled for Friday 2nd October.

Number are still available for anyone who wishes to join. Application forms and further details can be found on the 100 Club page of this website. Alternately contact the promoter directly on 07434 882845 or email suebates@uwclub.net

More than half of all taking go into the prize fund, the remaining money will be allocated to the upkeep of St Mary’s Church, Billingsley and community projects. Already money has been spent to secure heating in the church for the forthcoming winter.

St Mary’s is extremely grateful for the tremendous support it has received from members of the community, friends and family and supporters from further afield.

I was on my weekly tour of inspection at Billingsley church, noting how the weeds were starting to sprout again on the path. Then I was stopped in my tracks by a large mushroom. I’ve no idea what it was, all I knew was that I thought it was beautiful. Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but for me, there was something wonderful about the its cracked, leathery brown top with streaks of orange beneath.

Some people see beauty in nature as evidence of a loving creator God. I’m a bit wary of pushing that too far; the coronavirus is also a product of nature; whilst as a scientist I can see beauty in the way the spike protein on its surface changes its shape, I also know that this is how it infects cells, the process that has so far killed around 800,000 people throughout the world. Mushrooms and viruses alike are the products of evolution, something that relies on random mutations. But as a Christian, I have no problem in accepting that evolution is the process that God uses to create. Because God gives creation freedom, that will sometimes produce killer viruses. But more often, it gives beauty; it gives us, humankind. And so when I look at the natural world and see wonderful processes, plants and animals, I can give thanks to the God who has chosen natural selection and given creation the freedom to give us beauty.

Dear All,

Details of events this coming week are below: all are welcome! Please pass these invitations on to anyone who you think might be interested.

Zoom services

1) Wednesday evening catch-up

Sept 2nd, 2020 07:00 PM London

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3592851895?pwd=cksyL0t5TlhFUURRenpxMG9yQTVhUT09

2) Friday Morning Prayer, 9.00am

Sept 4th, 2020 09:00 AM London

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3592851895?pwd=cksyL0t5TlhFUURRenpxMG9yQTVhUT09

Service at https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/join-us-in-daily-prayer/morning-prayer-contemporary-friday-4-september-2020

3) Friday night prayer

September 4th, 2020 09:00 PM London

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3592851895?pwd=cksyL0t5TlhFUURRenpxMG9yQTVhUT09

Service at https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/join-us-in-daily-prayer/night-prayer-contemporary-friday-4-september-2020

Thought for the Week, 29th August; Singing our song

The life of faith has challenges. We are called to be citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven and to reject the values of this world. Jesus spoke of how we are called to pick up our own cross to follow him; Paul, who endured much hardship in his ministry, spoke of how we are to be living sacrifices.

But Jesus also said that his yoke was easy, his burden was light. I think by that he meant we were not to be governed by the clutter of religious rules and regulations that put so many obstacles between God and ordinary people. And Paul and the other leaders of the early church were also aware that we are not called to carry an unbearable burden. As a fellow vicar once said to me in one of my more idealistic moods; remember Jesus was crucified for us so we don’t need to be. In his letter to the Romans, Paul tells his readers that they cannot excel in every Christian virtue, in every form of Christian service. Not everyone is called to be a leader, a teacher, a servant. Each one of us is called to some form of Christian service, something where our faith guides us and so marks us out as followers of Jesus, but we are not expected to do the lot.  Paul is actually being tremendously affirmative of the quiet life of faith that most of us lead. We are not called to stand on street corners to preach the Gospel, to embrace poverty, chastity and obedience, to spend all our waking hours praying and studying.

About 20 years ago, a priest called Francis Dewar wrote a book for those considering ordination called “Collared or cornered?”. His central message was that everyone has a gift that as Christians they are called to share; ordination can actually get in the way of that. He had a wonderful phrase; God has given each of us a song to sing. Our job is to try and find what that is, so that people can hear us and see that we are Christians when we sing it our way, as nobody else will be able to do.