Newsletter - St Barnabas
- Church
- Jun 10, 2023
- 6 min read
11/6/23
Your weekly update from the Benwell & Scotswood Team
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Services this week
Sun 11 June
9.30am - St John's Holy Communion
11am - Hub service at St James (Parish Eucharist)
4pm - St Margaret's Evening worship
Thurs 15 June
10.30am - Holy Communion, Ven Bede
News
Thursdays at Ven Bede
Don't forget you are welcome every Thursday at 10.30 am for a service of Holy Communion at the Venerable Bede, NE4 8AP
Prayer list
We will soon be refreshing the intercessions prayer list, if there are names you would like to remain on the list or names to be added, please send the name to Kath McIntyre at the church email address church@benwellscotswood.com
before Sunday 25th July.
We will keep each name on the list for 4 Sundays unless you indicate that the person needs to remain on it long-term. Prayers can be requested for anyone who you feel needs it, they don't just have to be those who are ill.
Friends of Denton Dene relaunch event
12-2pm, Sun 25 June
Join the friends of Denton Dene for their free relaunch event!
Family activities, scavenger hunt, meet a roman soldier, and find out more and care about our beautiful green space!
Free soft drink in exchange for litter picking!
Meet at the Bobby Robson Lounge, Blue Star Football Club, NE15 7HB
Facebook: @FriendsOfDentonDene
Items for the notices.
If you would like to announce something in the newsletter or the church service, please send the item in advance to Kath McIntyre at the church email address church@benwellscotswood.com
Please include details and no more than 2-3 short sentences about the item. If you have a preferred image please also include it in the email.
Worship texts
Reading
Acts 11.19–30 19 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, and they spoke the word to no one except Jews. 20But among them were some men of Cyprus and Cyrene who, on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists also, proclaiming the Lord Jesus. 21The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord. 22News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast devotion; 24for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were brought to the Lord. 25Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for an entire year they associated with the church and taught a great many people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called ‘Christians’. 27 At that time prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine over all the world; and this took place during the reign of Claudius. 29The disciples determined that according to their ability, each would send relief to the believers living in Judea; 30this they did, sending it to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
Gospel
John 15.12–17 12 ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
Sermon
Revd Chris
I wonder, what do you find encouraging? Or who do you find to be encouraging? What do you see in the world that gives you encouragement right now?
With so much bad in the world it’s inevitable to think that human beings are naturally selfish and dishonest and destructive. It feels like we’re meant to look negatively on other people, and to do otherwise would be naïve. But I also think there is so much that is encouraging, we don’t have to look far to see the way people in our area step up to look after each other, or the way young people now are so open minded and thoughtful about how they treat one another.
Today we remember Saint Barnabas, along with Paul, he one of the earliest apostles to the wider world beyond Jerusalem. Barnabas (originally called Joseph- just to confuse you) is given a new name as described in the book of the Acts of the Apostles: “There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means ‘son of encouragement’). 37He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.”
Barnabas, ‘son of encouragement’ - what a wonderful name.
Encouragement is one of those virtues so easily forgotten and overlooked, yet goes so far. You might be able to think about one or two people in your life who have given you encouragement, maybe a teacher, or a parent, or a friend. And I bet those people, and those few words of encouragement, have changed your life for the better.
Unfortunately, many of us have also been discouraged in life, many of us have not been given those kind words of recognition, have not had our potential and our gifts noticed. Many of us have been actively discouraged in life, we have been put down and made to feel smaller than we are, made to feel like we are not good enough.
Encouragement means giving someone the courage to do something, it requires people who can see not just the surface, but see the deeper potential, people who see there is something true and powerful and good within you. Encouragement must come from outside of us, someone has to recognise the gifts, but they have to see something that is already within us.
I remember I had one horrid teacher at school, the art teacher, which was genuinely my least favourite subject (after P.E. of course). I don’t know why she didn’t like me, but she would mark down all my work, no matter how long I’d worked on it, and tell me I was no good at it. It wasn’t until I moved to high school that I was able to find that I had talent for art, and passion for it. I remember the first bit of praise I received for a painting, and only realising then that I might be good at this. That little bit of encouragement changed my life forever, it helped me overcome being the person I was told I was, and led me to being a professional artist for many years.
If we expect people to be selfish and mean, then it’s no wonder that they become that. When we look for the worst in others, we often find it, but when we look for the best in others, we help one another create good. It is not naïve to look for goodness in one another and encourage each other, because encouragement is not empty praise, but helping one another be the best we can be. We need to look on each other with care, hope and positivity, because the smallest amount of encouragement can help us overcome the huge weight of negativity that makes us feel small and unworthy.
Barnabas, encouraged others, but didn’t do all that much other than share what he had- the wealth that he had and any knowledge of God that he had. It doesn’t mean he was the wealthiest and it doesn’t mean he was the most knowledgeable. Far from it. Yet he was remembered for his generosity, not for what he had to be generous with.
One of the reasons that the early church spread so successfully is because they gave encouragement and dignity to people whatever their wealth or position in society. They cared for the poor, they shared their wealth in common and treated each other equally. We discover the best of humanity in what we give, not what we hold onto.
We were told in our reading, that it is through the work of Barnabas and others in Antioch, that the followers of Jesus were first called ‘Christians’. The word ‘Christian’ essentially means ‘Little Christ’. This tells how we can be different to the rest of the world, to not look for the worst in others, but to look for Christ in one another.
Be ‘little Christs’, look for Jesus in one another and you will find him. Share all that you have, just as Christ gave all of himself for you. If we look for it, then we discover the very presence of God is already in each other, and that is a never-ending wealth and power within us that we already have to share.
Intercessions
If you would like to add someone to the prayer list please email church@benwellscotswood.com
The name will stay on the list for 1 month unless requested to be long-term.
Prayers for others:
Maria Hawthorn
Madeleine and her daughters
Michelle Madison
Lorraine Atkinson
Lyndsey Richardson
Elizabeth Taylor
Alison Campbell
John Taylor
Irene Foskett
John Nicholson
Alan Robson
Michelle Wilson
George Snowden
Claire Mozaffari
Herbert Agbeko
Rest in Peace
Malcolm Gibson