The Bangor on Dee Group Notices June 12th 2022 Trinity Sunday
Today 9.45 Eucharist Marchwiel
11.00 Morning Prayer Bangor, Eucharist Worthenbury
16.00 Buildings Committee Bangor
Wednesday 14.00 Prayer Group Marchwiel
18.00-18.30 Keep fit with Marcus in Bangor Church
Saturday 10-12 MA Workshops 10-12 in Overton.
10.30 Coffee Morning at home of Margaret Geddes for RSPCA
14.00 Tabletop Sale at Bitesize £5 per table. See Sue. Cream Teas.
.Sunday after Trinity 9.45 Eucharist Marchwiel
11.00 Eucharist Worthenbury, Morning Prayer Bangor
16.00 Buildings Committee Bangor
Churchwardens are accepting donations for a gift for Michael to be presented at his first Eucharist. He wants to buy a chasuble.
June 21st The Archdeacon’s Visitation 7pm at Bronington. All churchwardens need to sign the declaration. MAC and Church Committee members warmly invited to attend.
June 22nd Bangor Church Committee
June 25th Michael’s Ordination to the Priesthood 10am St Asaph Cathedral
June 26th Bangor Strawberry Tea 4pm at Deeside. Tickets available £8
Bible notes John 16 verses 12-15
In John’s Gospel, Jesus starts to talk about ‘going away’ as early as 7.33. By the time we reach his farewell words to the disciples in chapters 13 – 17, it’s clear what he means. His impending execution will take him from the disciples without leaving them desolate. He promises to be with them in a new way through the coming of the Holy Spirit. This week’s short reading contains the last in the series of the ‘Paraclete’ (often translated as ‘advocate’) sayings ‘The Spirit of truth’, which occurs in other contemporary Jewish writings, underlines the link with Jesus as the truth. Like him, the Spirit is sent by God to teach God’s truth. This can only be a gradual, one day at a time process. ‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now’, such is the disciples’ understandable anxiety over Jesus’ departure.
The Spirit as teacher and guide will enable Jesus’ disciples to understand what he means when he calls them to ‘love one another as I have loved you’. Those to whom the evangelist writes, interpret Jesus’ call as being in the ‘now’ of the hostile opposition they experience, many years later, from local synagogues determined to exclude them from the family of faith. Linking each new generation of Jesus’ followers is the Holy Spirit, the continuing presence of Jesus in the church’s everyday experience, and the assurance of his enduring love, joy, peace and hope.
The Gospel of John provides further evidence of Christians using the language of Father, Son and Holy Spirit to tell their story, with its power to speak of God’s sacrificial, healing love in a world so often fed by hostility and violence. During the various lockdowns and ‘levels’ during the pandemic, changes to the rules often took people by surprise. Many people had to make changes to their plans, often at the last minute. Performances were postponed and rearranged. Weddings ended up completely changed – on different dates, at different venues, with different guest lists. We are used to making plans and looking forward to future events, but we learnt how fragile those plans can be. And perhaps it caused us to ponder what is truly important. Is it the past that has happened? Is it the future that might be? Or is the most important thing the now?
