Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honours him.
(Proverbs 14:31)
In our series on Ezra-Nehemiah we have reached a point in the narrative (in Nehemiah ch5) where the conflict that has come from opposition to the rebuilding of the walls, and the work of rebuilding itself, takes a back seat and a new problem emerges – the problem of hunger and exploitation.
Hunger and exploitation are problems that have plagued history throughout the world; even in our own part of the world and in this modern age. In January 2022, Thanet accounted for 11% of trafficking and modern slavery reports made in Kent. These figures included illegal workers who were being exploited and made to live in extremely poor conditions. Food banks in Thanet over the last four years have seen them serving more than six times the number of families and elderly than in the previous years. Hunger and exploitation are real problems.
As we read God’s word and as we build our relationship with God, by standing in the gap in prayer, we discover God’s heart for equity. We realise we are called to be distinctive in our living and to love as God loves. Jesus told his followers to love their neighbour as themselves, which rightly means making sure ourselves and others don’t suffer hunger and exploitation, taking the example from Nehemiah’s time (as well as our own).
On a global scale this might seem impossible to achieve – the eradication of hunger and exploitation. But what we can do is in the way we live; be examples of people that do not exploit, that are wise with resources and seek to show God’s love in how we treat both friend and stranger. Let’s seek to be living examples this week.
Claire Coleman
St. George’s Website
- What’s On – a page which lets you know what is happening this week and gives information about upcoming events.
- Notices – You can read the latest notices on this page.
- Sermons – Read a transcript of a recent sermon or watch the YouTube version recorded at St. Luke’s. There are now videos for all the sermons over the summer.
Weekly Calendar
Sunday 28th January
Eucharist (St George’s, 9:30am) –Reading: Nehemiah 5
Monday 29th
Daily Prayer (Hardres Street Church) – 9:00-10:00am
Craft Group (St. George’s Hall, Soup Kitchen) – 2:00-3:30pm
Study Group (Margate Road) – 7:15-9:30pm
Tuesday 30th
Daily Prayer (Hardres Street Church) – 9:00-10:00am
Coffee Morning (St. George’s Hall) – 11:00am-12:00pm
Community Meal (St. George’s Hall) – 5:30-7:00pm
Wednesday 31st
Daily Prayer (Hardres Street Church) – 9:00-10:00am
Study Group (Langdale Avenue) – 10:00-12:00 noon
Study Group (South Eastern Road) – 7:30-9:30pm
Thursday 1st February
Daily Prayer (St Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Friday 2nd
Daily Prayer (Hardres Street Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Saturday 3rd
Churches Together Prayer Breakfast – Prayer for unity
(Centenary Hall, Hardres Street) – 9:00-10:00am
Sunday 4th
Eucharist (St George’s, 9:30am) –Reading: Nehemiah 13:1-22
Sunday School (St George’s, 10:30am)
Prayer Requests
Be assured I will do my best to check that people are happy for the requests to be shared before including them. Please pray for…
- Derek Tench who recently had an angiogram. Pray for wisdom for the doctors in interpreting the results and deciding on the best treatment.
- Sue Martin for her continued recovery from her knee operation.
- Holly Archer, thanks for good progress so far and pray for continuing progress with the physiotherapy
- Betty Searchfield, for her diabetes to be under control.
- Kevin (Malcolm and Betty’s son-in-law), for healing of his heart.
- Brenda Harmes continuing her recovery.
Love is all you need – Community Meal Fundraising Concert
This concert at St. George’s church on Friday 9th February at 7:30pm is to raise money for the running of the Community Meal at St. George’s Hall on Tuesdays. Tickets are £8 in advance and now available online or £10 on the door.
Pancake Party
Fun and games on Tuesday 13th February, 4:00-6:00pm, St. Luke’s Church, organised by the St. Luke’s and St. George’s social committee. Please bring your own frying pan!
Questions
We are making 2024 a year of Discernment for our churches, where we are seeking to find out where God wants to lead us in the coming years. As a first step in this process, we want to gather questions that we think we should be asking God. We are opening this up to the whole congregation and others. So, please pray and consider submitting a question via our online form. If you cannot use an online form, then please write it down and hand it to Paul or Claire.
Reading the Scriptures or Leading Prayers on Sunday
If anyone is interested in joining a rota to be someone who reads one of our Scripture readings or leads the prayers during our Sunday service, then Mark would love to speak to you!
Links to Share:
Cashing Out, Biblical Thoughts on the Future of Money
Monetary systems are innovating rapidly yet also losing the public’s trust. Given that trust (and government solvency) are critical to the survival of banks, recent bank failures may presage the transition to a new monetary paradigm. The Bible’s pointers to the features of a desirable monetary system are used to assess the merits or otherwise of the challengers to the status quo – notably cryptocurrencies and Central Bank Digital Currencies. The latter, in particular, raise a number of concerns regarding governmental surveillance and control. Read more…
World hunger – our Christian response
If you want to think more about this topic in a deeper way than we can explore in our sermon. This article although from 1992 has some interesting perspectives that might help us grapple with our own thoughts on how we can be living examples against hunger and exploitation. Read here.
Finally, let’s keep studying God’s word, standing in the gap and living by example a way that demonstrates God’s desire for equity.
Yours in Christ
Claire Coleman
(Curate, St. Luke’s Ramsgate)
Online Forms
Under the ‘Contact’ tab on the website, there are now three forms that you can use to help us in managing the church:
- Events Application Form. Use this if you are organising a church event that needs a church room booked, advertising or ticketing.
- Submit a Notice. Use this if you want to ask us to include a prayer request or other notice in the church notice sheet or email.
Maintenance Reporting Form.Use this to report any non-urgent issues with our buildings or grounds.
St. George's Church Ramsgate 