Dear friends,

A very warm welcome to our worship this morning, wherever you are praising God across the Langtree Team Ministry area. It is great that we can celebrate in freedom and joy, without interference from either the state or the security services. It is also brilliant that we can share ecumenically with our brothers and sisters in the Roman Catholic church, without violence, or fear of a plot from overseas to overthrow the government. We continue to pray for those in both Catholic and Protestant churches who are working to increase collaboration and intercommunion between our denominations.

Sadly good relationships between different faith and political groupings are not the case in many places around the world. In some countries Christians have to keep their faith a secret, sometimes even from their families, in order to avoid persecution and arrest. I commend to you all the work of the barnabas fund, bringing aid and relief, and highlighting the plight of suffering Christians around the globe. www.barnabasfund.org

Next Sunday is Remembrance Sunday. Please do make every effort to support your local church as we offer hospitality to many from the wider community gathering together to honour the lives of those who served our country in two world wars, and to remember those who did not return.

Please pray for David Green and his family. David is a first year ordinand (=trainee vicar) at Cuddesden who is on a Sunday placement with us for the next four months or so. You may well come across him as he visits a number of our congregations across the Team Area.

Finally, in this season of bonfires and fireworks, why not ask God to reveal to you the things in your life (both inner life and outer life) which really should go on the bonfire, and those things which you need to celebrate with a whoosh and a bang ! Let’s not be half hearted about either !

Your Rector Canon Kevin Davies