Find out what is happening at Ramsgate's Town Centre Church.
Buy tickets via Eventbrite at this link
On Friday 17th October
Performing artists include Rebeca Ortega, an elegant and accomplished dancer based in Seville, maestro gutarrista Ramon Ruiz from Granada who trained in Seville, and Natalia Marin, renowned puro flamenco singer from Seville.
An illustrated talk by Margaret Bolton
A great chance to learn more about both the history of Ramsgate and St. George’s church.
An illustrated talk by Margaret Bolton looking at how Ramsgate developed up to the Regency period and what prompted people to build a church. Why did they call it St George’s? Where did the money come from? Why was it designed to look as it did? Who worked on the project? How has it changed since? A great chance to learn more about both the history of the town or church.
Tickets are £5 on the door or in advance from the website. All proceeds to the St. George’s Restoration Fund. Fliers available at the back of church.
St George’s Church
Saturday 4th October at 3pm
Tickets £5 including refreshments
All proceeds to the church restoration fund
“The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;” – Psalm 24:1
Let us remember the ultimate source of our food. The verse above reminds us that everything in the earth belongs to God, he is the creator and source of all things. Ultimately, he is the one who provides the food we enjoy, so it is only right that we stop to thank him!
Sowing for Harvest (Luke 8:1-15)
Harvest – Reaping the Sown Seed
At harvest time, farmers reap the crop.
After months of work, ploughing, planting, watering and fertilising, they finally see the fruits of their hard labour and can give thanks to God for his good provision.
The harvest only comes… if you sow the seeds.
So let’s sow some seeds.
Give out conkers.
Yet, from one seed, many other seeds come:
In each tiny seed is the power to grow an amazing plant and produce many more seeds.
Horse Chestnuts are a kind of seed. One seed has the power to grow into an enormous tree as tall as this church…
Each seed has the potential to become an amazing plant and produce many more seeds. But not every seed ends up producing other seeds…
Context:
Jesus has been going from town to town, preaching God’s word. Now, Luke tells us people were coming from lots of different towns to hear Jesus. He was becoming very popular, a kind of celebrity, that people wanted to see and hear.
But when a big crowd of people came, Jesus told them a parable, that is a story with a deeper meaning.
Many of you would have heard this story many times before, but imagine you were in the crowd and just heard the story about the sower and the seeds. What would you have made of it? How would you have reacted?
So, let’s consider the story and consider what it means.
The harvest only comes… if you sow the seeds.
Let’s sow some seeds.
Throw out 1st screwed up seed…
The Seed is the Word of God – vs. 11
Let’s look at the seed…
Jesus says, the seeds in the story are ‘the word of God’.
Just as a seed has incredible potential to produce even more seeds and to grow into amazing plants, so when we share the word of God in the world, we know it has incredible potential to change people and transform the world. In fact as the word of God has spread down the centuries it has transformed the world and today the church, the people who believe the word of God, spreads across all the continents and peoples of the world and has helped to change the world into a more caring and peaceful place.
The seed has power to grow something amazing, but not every seed does. The word of God has power to grow something amazing, but it depends where the seed lands.
—-
The harvest only comes… if you sow the seeds.
Let’s sow some seeds.
Throw out 2nd screwed up seed…
The Seed that fell on the Path – vs. 12
Let’s look at the seed.
The first seed in Jesus’ story fell on the path and was trodden under foot or eaten by birds.
Did this seed bear fruit? No!
Jesus says this stands for those people who hear the word of God, but the devil takes it away before it can grow.
Remember the devil is the father of lies. Many people reject the Christian message because they believe Satan’s lies. Lies like:
“Science has shown that God does not exist.”
“Religion is a made up idea to control people.”
“Jesus is just a made up story.”
“Suffering shows that there cannot be a God of love.”
Because people believe these lies without questioning them, they dismiss the word of God, without even considering it. Sadly, their hearts are not ready to receive the word.
—-
The harvest only comes… if you sow the seeds.
Let’s sow some seeds.
Throw out 3rd screwed up seed…
The Seed that fell on the Rock – vs. 13
Let’s look at the seed.
The seed that fell on the rock begins to grow, but because the rock is dry, it cannot get enough water and so it shrivels up and dies.
Did this seed bear fruit? No!
Jesus says that this stands for people who hear God’s word and are excited about it to start with. They seem to be enthusiastic new Christians. But, it does not last. When it becomes difficult to be a Christian, perhaps because:
their friends take the mickey out of them or
because life becomes difficult, or
Christian friends let them down,
they give up on following Jesus. Sadly, their hearts are not ready to hold on to God’s word for it to bear fruit.
—-
The harvest only comes… if you sow the seeds.
Let’s sow some seeds.
Throw out 4th screwed up seed…
The Seed that fell among the Weeds – vs. 14
Let’s look at the seed.
The seed that fell among weeds, begins to grow, but unfortunately the weeds choke it, so it does not grow properly.
Did this seed bear fruit? No!
Jesus says this stands for people who hear God’s word and start believing, but the worries of life and its riches and pleasures take over from God’s word, so that they do not mature in faith. There are many things in today’s world that are weeds to faith.
There is an obsession with money or wealth, resulting either in constant worry about having enough or obsession in gaining more. As Jesus says, you cannot serve both God and money, if you try, the danger is that money will become your real master and God will be choked out of any meaningful role in your life.
There is also the distractions of pleasure. In our world, these are multiplied, through the distractions of our phones, social media, YouTube and so on, that eat up our time and choke out time spent in reading God’s word, praying or meeting with other Christians.
—-
The seed has the power to produce amazing amounts of fruit, but not every seed does. So far, Jesus’ parable points to those for whom the word of God fails to have the desired effect. But is it all doom and gloom? Let’s try one more seed.
The harvest only comes… if you sow the seeds.
Let’s sow some seeds.
Throw out 5th screwed up seed…
The Seed that fell on Good Soil – vs. 15
Let’s look at the seed.
The seed that fell on good soil.
Did this seed bear fruit? Yes!
Whereas the other seeds failed, this seed produces 100 more seeds. There was a harvest, because someone sowed the seed. The seed’s potential to transform and increase was fulfilled the word of God does have power to transform, when it finds a heart ready to truly listen to God’s word and persevere with it through their lives.
—
What does this say to the disciples?
For the disciples and those of us who want to spread God’s word, this parable acts as a reality check. The word of God has power to transform, but not everyone who hears it will be transformed.
We will face lots of disappointment over people who show no interest or show an interest, but do not persevere with God’s word or are too distracted by other things to hold on to it.
But, we shouldn’t be surprised by this and we shouldn’t give up. Because sometimes when we share God’s word it will make a profound impact on someone who will persevere and not be distracted.
What does this say to the crowds?
At the start I asked you to consider what it would be like to hear the parable without any explanation for the first time.
I think it would have felt a bit odd. You might have wondered why Jesus was giving a lesson on farming. It would have been hard to see the point that Jesus was making. You would hear Jesus, but not understand him.
But, for Jesus that was part of the point of the Parable. He told his disciples in verse 10, that he spoke in parables, so that people may hear, but not understand.
If you just heard what Jesus said and were not keen to understand, you would probably just shrug your shoulders and walk off. That showed that your heart was not ready to receive the word of God, you were not the good soil.
But if you heard the parable and wanted to understand what would you do? You would ask Jesus what it meant. Or ask someone else who had found out what it meant. This is what the disciples did. They asked Jesus and he explained it to them, because in asking they showed they wanted to understand. They had hearts ready to receive God’s word and ultimately bear fruit!
The parable is a challenge to the crowds to consider how they are listening to him. They are a challenge to us today about how we are listening to God’s word:
Are we listening, but just dismissing his words without thinking?
Are we listening, but not willing to persevere with God’s word when things become tough?
Are we listening, but too distracted by other issues in life to take it seriously?
Or are we really listening? Eager to understand more and to share the word of God with others too?
“The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;”
(Psalm 24:1)
Scroll on…
Harvest is a time to give thanks. We take for granted the food that is so readily available in our shops or that is delivered to our door, but it is good to take a moment to reflect on all that goes into ensuring that we can have food on our table.
There is a long chain of people involved in ensuring food sits on the shelves. There are those who work in the shops, the people who transport the food, the people who work to prepare, cook and package the food ready for the supermarket and of course at the start of the chain, the farmers who grow the ingredients from which the food is made. We ought to take a moment to acknowledge and be thankful for all those involved in this chain which is essential to our survival and wellbeing.
Additionally, in a world that is becoming increasingly nationalistic, it is important to acknowledge the international nature of our food sources. Although, much of what we eat is grown in this country, there is much that is not. Chocolate, coffee, tea, most spices and a lot of our fruit all have to be sourced from abroad. We rely on the global nature of our world more than we often like to admit. So, this harvest let’s give thanks for all those around the world who enable us to enjoy the food we do.
Finally, let us remember the ultimate source of our food. The verse above reminds us that everything in the earth belongs to God, he is the creator and source of all things. Ultimately, he is the one who provides the food we enjoy, so it is only right that we stop to thank him, too! So, this Sunday, join us for our Harvest service, so that we can give thanks together!
Paul Worledge
Our Harvest Service, next week, will be an All Age service starting at 10:00am. We are hoping that this will be an opportunity for both the 9:30am congregation and Sunday School families to join together in a short service of thanksgiving. There will be a simple Holy Communion in the choir stalls before this service at 9:30am.
We will also be having a special collection, which will go towards Christian Aid. If you aren’t able to attend the service or prefer to give by bank transfer, then please donate using: St Georges Parochial Church Council/ 30-99-50 / 48005763 / Ref.: ‘Harvest2025’ .
We will be collecting non-perishable food items at the service, which will be donated to the local Salvation Army Food Bank. Please bring some non-perishable food to offer at the service.
Part of our Vision 2030 is to create new worshipping communities. One way that could happen is through the support of Myriad, which trains small teams of lay people to start small new worshipping communities. If you are interested in finding more about this, then there will be an online taster event for Myriad in Canterbury on either Thursday 25th September or Tuesday 30th September from 7:30-8:30pm. Please see Paul if you are interested. Why not also sign up to help develop this part of our vision on the New Worshipping Communities workstream. Go to form.
A great chance to learn more about both the history of the town or church. An illustrated talk by Margaret Bolton looking at how Ramsgate developed up to the Regency period and what prompted people to build a church. Why did they call it St George’s? Where did the money come from? Why was it designed to look as it did? Who worked on the project? How has it changed since?
Tickets are £5 on the door or in advance from the website. All proceeds to the St. George’s Restoration Fund. Fliers available at the back of church.
Sadly, due to weather the Petanque evening was cancelled. The next event is the Pool Challenge at the Frames Snooker Club on Thursday, 9 October.
‘This concert has been cancelled due to lack of ticket sales.
Canterbury Cathedral 11am, 4/10/25
This service is for anyone who has either personally lost a baby at any stage of pregnancy, at birth, or in early years, or who has been affected by family members’ or friends’ loss. Whether the loss was recent or 80 years ago, everyone is welcome to attend. We have also extended the services, and gladly welcome anyone who is grieving the fact that they haven’t had children. This may be due to circumstance, infertility, or for other reasons – but all are welcome. Babies and children are also invited to come with their families, as the Saying Goodbye service is truly a family event for all. Find out more…
Friday 3rd October, 6:30 for 7pm start at St. Philips Church Palm Bay
£5 per person, you need to book a ticket. For more information see poster.
The lies being fed to us…
In this 20 minor video, Glen Scrivener gives a powerful analysis of how the internet is leading us into rage. What is the antidote? Church. Watch the video…
In this article by Ian Paul, he reflects on the implications of the latest figures on the age of clergy. At present 47.5% of paid clergy are 55 or over. That means an optimistic projection of a national drop from around 7,000 to 5,000 in the next 10 years. So what are the implications? Read the article…
Harvest Short Communion – (St George’s, 9:30am)
All Age Harvest Service – (St George’s, 10am), Reading: Luke 8:1-15
Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
The Bible Course (St. Luke’s Hall) – 7:30-9:00pm
Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Community Meal (St. George’s Hall) – 5:30-7:00pm
Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm
Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
The Bible Course (St. Luke’s Church) – 11:30am-1:00pm
Churches Together in Ramsgate Prayer Breakfast – 9:00-10:00am
Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm
The Birth of St. George’s (St. George’s Church) – 3:00-5:00pm
Eucharist – (St George’s, 9:30am), Reading: Luke 16:19-31
Under the ‘Contact’ tab on the website, there are now three forms that you can use to help us in managing the church:
Finally, let’s keep thanking God for all his goodness to us.
Yours in Christ
Paul Worledge
(Priest in Charge, St. George’s Ramsgate)
“No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” Luke 16:13
Money is a part of life, but it does not need to be master of our life. Christians, of course, want to serve God. We are called to follow his good commandments. But do we allow Money to be another master in our life?
Ultimately, we need to choose who we serve. Will we serve the hard taskmaster of Money, or the loving and gracious God, who made us and gives to us freely? The choice is yours.
Shrewd Investment (Luke 16:1-13)
Angela Rayner
Angela Rayner is out of the government. Earlier in the summer she was accused of underpaying stamp duty on an £800,000 seafront flat in Hove. What followed were denials and excuses over a number of weeks. But the pressure mounted, and the enquiries became more thorough and ultimately it was shown she had not taken enough care to make sure she paid the full amount of Stamp Duty and so she lost her place in Cabinet and as Deputy Prime Minister.
It seemed her desire for money had ended her political career. Money can be an awful master, and the court of public opinion very unforgiving.
The Story of the Sacked Manager
In Luke 16, Jesus tells his disciples a story. Like most of the stories Jesus told, this was a parable. A story seemingly rooted in ordinary everyday life but intended to teach deeper spiritual truths about God and how we relate to him. Stories that at first glance look run of the mill, but on deeper reflection often contain many surprises.
Most of the stories are straightforward and their meanings not too difficult to grasp. However, the story we are looking at today, about a manager who is sacked by a rich landowner, is probably one of the most difficult to understand!
Let’s begin by trying to make sense of the story, and the surprises that we need to take note of.
The Rich Landowner and His Manager
The two main characters are a rich man and his manager. The rich man was probably a wealthy landowner. He would have owned many fields and vineyards. Rather than farming the land he owned himself, he rented the land out to others for a fee, probably a share of the expected crops. So, later we see that some of those renting owed him a certain amount of wheat for a field they would have rented to grow wheat, whilst another person owed a certain amount of olive oil, probably in exchange for renting an olive grove from the man.
The manager, would have been responsible for handling all the accounting, collecting the rent and finding new renters for the fields and so on, a bit like a modern estate agent today. He would have been an able person and probably paid well for his work.
The rich man hears that the manager has been wasting his possessions. It is not clear whether this is down to incompetence or corruption, but it is likely to be corruption. The word for ‘wasting’ is the same word used for the son in the previous story in Luke’s gospel who takes his inheritance and wastes it on wild living in a foreign land. The manager has probably been fiddling the books taking some money for himself and funding a wild lifestyle. But, like Angela Rayner, he has been found out.
Surprise 1: No Excuses
This is where we have the first surprise in the story. In most ancient stories like this, the expectation would be that the person accused would make all kinds of excuses and try and talk his way out of his predicament. Indeed, that is how Angela Rayner behaved, when she was first accused of not paying the full stamp duty.
But this manager does not do that. He says nothing to the master in response to the accusations. His silence betrays his guilt. All he can do is face up to the response of the manager. But that is where we have surprise number 2.
Surprise 2: No Jail
At this point, you would expect the landowner, irate that the manager had basically stolen from him, arrange for him to be locked up, possibly hoping that he may be paid back for what had been taken from him.
But the rich man does not do that. Rather, he simply says, ‘You cannot be my manager any longer.’ In other words, the master bears the costs of the managers wickedness, but he cannot continue to allow him to be his manager, if that is how he will abuse his trust. In the end, this is a fair but surprisingly generous judgement to pass on the manager.
The Cunning Plan:
The manager responds by speaking to himself and coming up with a cunning plan. In the preceding story, the son who ran away and wasted his inheritance also speaks with himself and comes up with a plan. In his case it is to go home to his father and hope he finds a welcome.
The manager’s plan is also designed to ensure a welcome. He knows that his situation is desperate. He needed a job, or he would starve. He wasn’t strong enough for manual labour and he didn’t want to resort to the humiliation of begging, so he has to find a way to ensure he will be welcomed into people’s homes.
The details of the plan become clear in the next couple of verses. Aware that he needs to act quickly before it becomes known that he is no longer the manager, he calls in the master’s debtors, those who owed rent on the fields or vineyards when the harvest came in. They still think he is the manager for the landowner, someone who had the authority to set the rental value. Such values could be renegotiated, if say, it looked like there was going to be a bad harvest. But, now the manager is offering them a special deal. Perhaps he is saying to them, look because your such a great guy, I have persuaded my master to reduce you’re rent. Here, take your bill and change it to half its amount!
Notice, that in verse 6, he tells the renters to change the bills quickly, he wants to do it before news of his sacking gets out, so that the change in contract remains valid, and those whose bills are changed will return the favour by welcoming him into their homes in the future.
Surprise 3: The Manager is Praised!
But then the landlord finds out what is happening. How is he going to respond to even more of his money being lost? This time you would expect him to be furious and to want the man thrown into jail.
But that is not what happens. In fact, what happens is he praises the manager for being so shrewd or clever. He knew he was in trouble, and he came up with a very clever way to survive. Perhaps such a clever manager is worth keeping after all. Indeed, although he had lost the landowner more money, at least he had made him look good and generous among those who rent his fields.
The Key to the Story:
So, that is the story, but what is the point that Jesus is making. What spiritual truths does it teach us about God and what it means to be his.
First of all, Jesus is not teaching us to fiddle the books, if we are accountants. At the end of verse 8, he says that the manager in the story is an example of someone of this world, not a person of the light. We are not meant to fiddle the books. Nonetheless, the implication is that we are meant to learn from his shrewdness.
So, what are we to learn? To help us with that, it is worth considering who each of the characters in the story are meant to represent.
The Landowner is clearly the person in charge or the owner in the story, the one with authority. In all of Jesus’ parables, such figures represent God. In the stories Jesus tells, it is where these characters act in surprising ways, that we are shown the teaching points about God.
So, although it is not the main point of the story, it does shows us something of the mercy and generosity of God. The first surprise was that the manager was not jailed. The landowner showed great mercy and generosity towards him, whilst not wanting to allow the defrauding to continue. In the same way, the God of the Bible, is not a harsh judge. He is merciful and generous. Indeed, he sent Jesus to pay the price for our sin, to ransom us from the consequences of our wickedness. God cannot allow us to continue in wickedness forever, but he wants to offer us a way out from the consequences of our sin.
The last surprise also shows that he is concerned for his reputation. The manager commends the manager, who has made him look generous to those who rent the fields from him. We pray in the Lord’s prayer, ‘Hallowed be your name’, we should know that what matters is that God is glorified as a generous and merciful God before all people.
But the main character in the story is The Manager. Who does he represent? This is trickier. But Luke makes it clear in verse 1, that this story is addressed to the disciples and in verse 9, Jesus tells the disciples to behave like the manager.
So, in what sense is this dishonest manager a symbol of a disciple? In the story, the manager is someone who understands that his previous life has left him in a terrible situation. He does not make excuses to his boss, neither does he pretend to himself that everything is OK, he accepts that his situation before his boss is desperate.
In the same way as disciples of Jesus, we know that we cannot argue our way into God’s good books. We can’t come to God with excuses and expect him to let us into his eternal home. We have wasted the life, gifts, talents and resources God has entrusted to us on our own wants and desires. We have failed to give to God the full stamp duty he deserves. Like the manager, we deserve to be punished, but like the manager, we know by faith, that we are living in a moment of God’s mercy, that by the generosity of the cross, we do not have to face the punishment we deserve. That is what it is to be a disciple of Jesus.
So, as those who find that for the moment, we still have the gifts, the talents and resources that God has entrusted to us, how are we to use them now? The manager used them to secure his future, to ensure he would be welcomed into the houses of others in the future. In the same way, Jesus says, in verse 9:
“I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” (Luke 16:9)
In other words, Jesus is saying, that shrewd disciples will not hang on to their wealth, which is ultimately God’s wealth, to feed their own selfish desires, but they will use it to make friends in this life, who will welcome them into heaven. In other words, they will invest it into the work of the church, to help ensure that others can learn of the generosity of God. Such people will then be with you in eternity, literally eternally grateful to you for the part you played in helping them find faith in Jesus.
So what?
Perhaps you are not yet a disciple of Jesus? If not have you come to understand how merciful and generous the God of Jesus Christ is. That you cannot make excuses to him, but need to trust in his mercy and generosity and live in the light of that? Will you become a disciple of Jesus?
Are you already a disciple of Jesus? Then do you see what difference that should make to how you use your wealth? Are you investing for your eternal home or wasting your wealth on the here and now?
“No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
(Luke 16:13)
Scroll on…
We all need money. Without it you can’t pay your mortgage or rent, you can’t buy food for your family or pay the bills to heat your house. You simply canot live without money. Jesus himself earned and spent money. There is nothing wrong with taking part in the economy.
Money is a part of life, but it does not need to be master of our life. Christians, of course, want to serve God. We are called to follow his good commandments. But do we allow Money to be another master in our life?
Jesus says you cannot have two Masters. If you do, then at some point, the commands you receive from them both will conflict and you will have to choose which one to obey. As Christians we cannot let God become another master in our life.
So, what does it mean for Money to be our master? It means that when it comes to key decisions in life, the trump factor will always be about what gives us or saves us the most money. Should I spend more time with my neglected family or take the overtime offered at work? Money will demand taking the overtime. Should I buy the cheapest product or the most ethically sourced product? Money will demand going for the cheapest. Should I give generously to God’s work or only a token amount? Money will demand giving only the token amount.
Ultimately, we need to choose who we serve. Will we serve the hard taskmaster of Money, or the loving and gracious God, who made us and gives to us freely? The choice is yours.
Paul Worledge
“Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain!” Join us for this essential monthly meeting as we pray for the development of our vision. St. George’s Church.
Our Harvest Service, next week, will be an All Age service starting at 10:00am. We are hoping that this will be an opportunity for both the 9:30am congregation and Sunday School families to join together in a short service of thanksgiving. There will be a simple Holy Communion in the choir stalls before this service at 9:30am.
We will also be having a special collection, which will go towards Christian Aid.
We will be collecting non-perishable food items at the service, which will be donated to the local Salvation Army Food Bank. Please bring some non-perishable food to offer at the service.
Part of our Vision 2030 is to create new worshipping communities. One way that could happen is through the support of Myriad, which trains small teams of lay people to start small new worshipping communities. If you are interested in finding more about this, then there will be an online taster event for Myriad in Canterbury on either Thursday 25th September or Tuesday 30th September from 7:30-8:30pm. Please see Paul if you are interested. Why not also sign up to help develop this part of our vision on the New Worshipping Communities workstream. Go to form.
On Thursday 25th September from 10:00am to 11:30am, Cafe4All will be hosting a Macmillan Coffee morning to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. You’re welcome to bring a cake or something yummy to share (homemade or bought). Find out more or share on social media…
An illustrated talk by Margaret Bolton looking at how Ramsgate developed up to the Regency period and what prompted people to build a church. Why did they call it St George’s? Where did the money come from? Why was it designed to look as it did? Who worked on the project? How has it changed since?
Tickets are £5 on the door or in advance from the website. All proceeds to the St. George’s Restoration Fund. Fliers available at the back of church.
Sadly, due to weather the Petanque evening was cancelled. The next event is the Pool Challenge at the Frames Snooker Club on Thursday, 9 October.
‘We Shall Overcome’ present Thanet Male Voice Choir in concert at St George’s Church. The proceeds will be shared between St George’s Church and East Kent Mencap. Tickets £9 + booking fee. Find out more…
Canterbury Cathedral 11am, 4/10/25
This service is for anyone who has either personally lost a baby at any stage of pregnancy, at birth, or in early years, or who has been affected by family members’ or friends’ loss. Whether the loss was recent or 80 years ago, everyone is welcome to attend. We have also extended the services, and gladly welcome anyone who is grieving the fact that they haven’t had children. This may be due to circumstance, infertility, or for other reasons – but all are welcome. Babies and children are also invited to come with their families, as the Saying Goodbye service is truly a family event for all. Find out more…
Friday 3rd October, 6:30 for 7pm start at St. Philips Church Palm Bay
£5 per person, you need to book a ticket. For more information see poster.
This week, rather than share a couple of different articles, I thought I would signpost some discussion on the murder of Charlie Kirk. He was a conservative Christian speaker and blogger, who was shot dead whilst debating students at a university campus in Utah. Whilst many of us would have agreed with some of what Charlie Kirk said, no doubt there would have been much we would have disagreed with. Nonetheless, the murder of someone whilst speaking publicly is always shocking and tragic and rightly condemned. But, in the context of the culture wars what is the significance of this tragedy.
Here are a variety of takes on the murder’s significance and what can be learnt from it. Khalil Greene surveys the perhaps shocking reaction of many younger commentators who don’t feel bad about what happened to Charlie Kirk, because of the views he expressed, not least his support of American’s right to bear arms. Graham Tomlin sees it as a warning about the dangers of anger in society. Glen Scrivener in this podcast talks about how the death was so shocking, but reflects on the problem of violence being used to silence speech and explores how this is one way to look at what happened to Jesus.
Eucharist – (St George’s, 9:30am), Reading: Luke 16.1-13
Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
The Bible Course (St. Luke’s Hall) – 7:30-9:00pm
Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Community Meal (St. George’s Hall) – 5:30-7:00pm
Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm
Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
The Bible Course (St. Luke’s Church) – 11:30am-1:00pm
PCC Meeting (Soup Kitchen) – 2:00-4:00pm
Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm
Harvest Short Communion – (St George’s, 9:30am)
All Age Harvest Service – (St George’s, 10am), Reading: Luke 8:1-15
Under the ‘Contact’ tab on the website, there are now three forms that you can use to help us in managing the church:
Finally, let’s keep Jesus and His Father as our Master.
Yours in Christ
Paul Worledge
(Priest in Charge, St. George’s Ramsgate)
“I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven
over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons
who do not need to repent.” (Luke 15:7)
This week we continue our series on the stories Jesus told, we will be looking at the parables of the lost sheep and lost coin.
Our reading today from scripture. Luke 15:1-10
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
“I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven
over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons
who do not need to repent.”
(Luke 15:7)
Scroll on…
What makes you happy? What causes you real joy? When do you celebrate?
I have recently been reading a book about Artificial Intelligence and its recent developments. Interestingly, those developing Artificial Intelligence learnt a lot from human psychology, how we think and how our brains develop. Psychology has shown that what sparks feelings of happiness, is not being in a good situation, but discovering that your situation has improved.
This fits with the emotions of joy that Jesus describes in the parable of the lost sheep and lost coin. In the story of the lost coin, the woman who has ten silver coins loses one. She becomes £100’s poorer. So, she searches frantically for the coin and when she finds it her situation suddenly improves. She has suddenly regained £100s! Her joy is so great she throws a party.
Jesus applies this human psychological principle to God. God cares deeply about the condition of our souls and feels poorer when we, who are created in his image, go our own way and live life without reference to him. In a real sense we are lost to God.
But, when the situation changes, when people turn back to him and choose to live as belonging to him (the Bible calls this repentance), then Jesus says God is supremely happy. There is rejoicing in heaven.
If we love God, then we should want to make God happy. How do we do that? By encouraging others who are lost to God, to turn back to him.
Paul Worledge
We have had a great start to the Bible Course with 26 on Monday and another 20 on Thursday lunchtime. If you missed the first week, it is not too late to join, and it is easy to catch up with videos you miss through the Bible Course hub. So do join us either on Monday nights, 7:30-9:00pm in St. Luke’s Hall or Thursday’s 11:30am-1pm in St. Luke’s church.
The recent tea party organised by Claire Pay and hosted by Beth Patterson raised £181 for Breast Cancer Research. Thank you to everyone who attended and for the tea and cakes!
Part of our Vision 2030 is to create new worshipping communities. One way that could happen is through the support of Myriad, which trains small teams of lay people to start small new worshipping communities. If you are interested in finding more about this, then there will be an online taster event for Myriad in Canterbury on either Thursday 25th September or Tuesday 30th September from 7:30-8:30pm. Please see Paul if you are interested. Why not also sign up to help develop this part of our vision on the New Worshipping Communities workstream. Go to form.
At our last PCC meeting, we decided rather than paying from church funds into a few chosen charities, we would seek to promote the charities at special services through the year and encourage people to donate generously at those times.
In order to start this, we want people to suggest charities to support. We will choose three charities: one with an international focus, one with a national focus and one with a local focus. Ideally, the charities should be Christian. Please send suggestions for charities to support to Sue Martin in the next week, so that the PCC can consider which three to choose.
the summer to complete these courses and help us ensure we are a safe church for all?
St. George’s will be open on Saturday 13th and 20th for the Heritage Open Days for Tower and Crypt Tours, and also on 13th September as part of the Festival of Sound and with a Yard Sale.
“Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain!” Join us as we pray for the development of our vision. St. George’s Church.
An illustrated talk by Margaret Bolton looking at how Ramsgate developed up to the Regency period and what prompted people to build a church. Why did they call it St George’s? Where did the money come from? Why was it designed to look as it did? Who worked on the project? How has it changed since?
Tickets are £5 on the door or in advance from the website. All proceeds to the St. George’s Restoration Fund. Fliers available at the back of church.
Sadly, due to weather the Petanque evening was cancelled. The next event is the Pool Challenge at the Frames Snooker Club on Thursday, 9 October.
‘We Shall Overcome’ present Thanet Male Voice Choir in concert at St George’s Church. The proceeds will be shared between St George’s Church and East Kent Mencap. Tickets £9 + booking fee. Find out more…
Graham Tomlin explores how right and left use Christianity to bolster their arguments on immigration policy. The real solution, however, is to embrace Christianity… Read more…
In this more academic article, Tony Watkins reveals how the Old Testament prophets are a powerful voice speaking to today’s world about finding human flourishing in God. Read more…
Eucharist – (St George’s, 9:30am), Reading: Luke 15.1-10
Sunday School (St George’s, 10:30am)
Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
The Bible Course (St. Luke’s Hall) – 7:30-9:00pm
Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Community Meal (St. George’s Hall) – 5:30-7:00pm
Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm
Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
The Bible Course (St. Luke’s Church) – 11:30am-1:00pm
Dare to Pray Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:30am
Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm
Eucharist – (St George’s, 9:30am), Reading: Luke 16.1-13
Under the ‘Contact’ tab on the website, there are now three forms that you can use to help us in managing the church:
Finally, let’s dare to share our faith so that we can make God happy!
Yours in Christ
Paul Worledge
(Priest in Charge, St. George’s Ramsgate)
Sadly, this event has now been cancelled due to lack of ticket sales.
When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 14:15)
This week we begin a series looking at the stories Jesus told. This week’s story is about invitations and excuses.
You’re Welcome (Luke 14:15-24)
A Controversial Invitation
Later this month on 17th September, President Trump will arrive for a State Visit to the UK. He received the invitation from the king, when Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister visited the White House in February. Trump’s response at the time was that this was a “great, great honour.”
Not everyone feels that Trump should have been invited. Apparently, The Stop Trump coalition, is planning a ‘Trump Not Welcome’ demonstration for when he arrives.
Part of the three day visit will include a State Banquet at the St. George’s Hall in Windsor Castle. Along with Trump many VIPs from the UK will be invited to the banquet. For them the invitation is a real honour, it shows that they are important in the country, no doubt it will be a delicious meal and it will also be a chance to chat with other significant people in the country.
But the question of who is invited and who is going has itself not been without controversy. Nigel Farage, a fan of Trump, is reportedly upset that he has not been invited, whilst Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats has decided not to attend, out of protest at Trump’s lack of action to stop Israel’s military operation in Gaza.
Trump hasn’t yet arrived, yet already things are proving awkward.
An Awkward Dinner Party – 14:1-14
Our Bible Reading today, is set in the context of a dinner party. If you read the first part of chapter 14, you will see that Jesus has been invited to dinner at the house of a prominent Pharisee.
But things are rather awkward. Jesus firstly challenges them all about healing on the Sabbath, then the guests because they were trying to position themselves in high status seats and finally the host because he should have invited those who couldn’t have invited him back. If he’d done that Jesus says, he would be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.
Three times, Jesus criticises them. This dinner part was turning very awkward, I am sure you could have cut the atmosphere with a knife.
An Amazing Banquet – 14:15
But at this point, one of the guests tries to turn the conversation in a more positive direction. He says, in verse 15:
“Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 14:15b)
This man has clearly understood something of what Jesus has been saying. Far better to be invited to God’s eternal banquet, because you invited the poor, than to be invited to dinner at your rich neighbour’s house.
Let’s just pause to reflect on the truth of this statement. Perhaps like Nigel Farage you wish you had been invited to the State Banquet with Donald Trump at Windsor castle. It would be an amazing honour, involve amazing food and no doubt you would meet some amazing people.
But to be invited to the feast in the Kingdom of God, is so much better than that.
It is an Amazing Honour to sit with the Creator of the whole universe, the Eternal and Everlasting King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the one whose power and might dwarfs even that of the President of the United States.
It will be an Amazing Menu. Just think of your favourite food. It comes from God’s creation and has been cooked by chefs who have taken on board centuries of cooking tradition. To be at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven, will be to experience the great variety of foods that God has created, but also in Revelation it says that ‘the glory and honour of the nations’ will be brought into the heavenly Jerusalem – I think that includes all the best recipes and skills of the best chefs. This will be the most amazing meal ever.
Finally, it will have Amazing Guests. The wicked will be no more, only the righteous (or at least those who have been made fully righteous through their faith in Christ) will be there. This will be a chance to be with people made perfect in Christ, with all the sinful, destructive bits taken away. It will be a true love feast with perfect relationships.
The man who spoke to Jesus says:
“Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 14:15b)
Surely, he is right. Certainly, nothing Jesus says afterwards says that this statement is wrong.
Do you see this opportunity, this invitation as the most important thing to have in life. If you were invited to the state banquet at Windsor Castle I am sure you would be excited about the opportunity. Surely, ss Christians we should be even more excited about the prospect of being a part of the feast in God’s Kingdom.
An Advisory Tale – 14:16-24
But, although Jesus clearly agrees with this statement, he responds with a story or Parable, that is a kind of advisory tale. He is kind of saying, “Yes, you are right it will be an amazing blessing to be at that feast, but be careful, lest you end up missing out!”
So, l am going to call Jesus’ story an Advisory Tale. Like most Parables, at one level it is just a story with normal people and events, but at another it stands for deeper spiritual truths. So, before we look in more detail let’s consider who the people in the story are meant to represent.
Who’s Who?
To grasp the thrust of what Jesus is saying, I am going to focus on the two sets of invitees.
Feeble Excuses wrong Focus – vs. 18-20, 24
First there are the initial set of invitees. These are the people who in the story you would expect a wealthy home owner to invite to their dinner, the rich and the well to do neighbours. But, at the Spiritual dimension, they represent those like the guests at the Pharisees house who saw themselves as basically decent people, with a Jewish heritage that meant they would expect to be at the feast in the Kingdom of God.
But shockingly in the story, Jesus says, when the time to come to the feast arrives, they all begin to make rather feeble excuses. Here they have the opportunity to come to a great banquet, but instead they are more excited about things, that quite frankly could wait until another day.
The first, says that he has just bought a field and needs to inspect it. He represents people more excited about their possessions than God’s Kingdom.
The second, says that he wants to try out his new oxen. He represents someone more excited about their work than God’s Kingdom.
The third says, I have married a wife. He represents someone more excited about their relationships than God’s Kingdom.
None of these things are bad things to be excited about: possessions, work, relationships. They are the stuff of life. But, when they become more exciting and important to us than God’s Kingdom, when we see these temporary things as the main blessing in life, rather than a place in God’s eternal Kingdom, then we are in danger of missing out on God’s amazing invitation to us.
In fact the attitude of these guests is a terrible snub to the host. Similarly, if we turn God away, because we are more concerned about our possessions, work or relationships, then we are snubbing the creator of the universe.
The response at the end of the story, is that the host will snub the invitees, that God will snub those who ignore his invitation.
And let’s be honest, this is the way most people live. If coming to church is a sign that you are part of God’s Kingdom and looking forward to his heavenly banquet, then how many people do we know who stop coming, or never come because they are more interested in looking after their possessions, worried about their work or more concerned about their human relationships. Let’s be careful not to miss out on what matters most, because we are too caught up in these other things.
Amazing Grace: Inviting the Unimportant – vs. 21-23
The first invitees were the respectful well-to-do people you would expect to be invited to a rich man’s feast. What happens next in the story, is a surprising response from the host. He tells his servant that since the VIPs won’t come, those who the world considers unimportant, the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame, will be invited instead. The normal social order is turned upside down.
This shows us that although, God may snub those who snub him, he is not interested in just VIPs in the world’s eyes. Rather, he is the God who invites the poor and unimportant to come and be VIPs at his amazing banquet.
As Jesus says in the previous chapter:
“Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.” (Luke 13:30)
And for those of us who are part of the church, this is an encouragement to invite not just the people like us, but the people who might be considered of lower status in the world’s eyes. We exist not to attract those who will bless us in return, but those with nothing to offer us, because that is what God does, but also because when we do that God will ultimately repay us, just as Jesus said in 14:13-14
” But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:13-14)
How do you respond?
I wonder how the man who spoke the Beatitude in verse 15 felt after the story Jesus told? How are you feeling after thinking about the Parable?
Awkward?
Advised?
Amazed?
Or perhaps you are amazed that despite how insignificant you feel that God has invited you to the great banquet of his Kingdom.
St. George's Church Ramsgate 