Built to last

Dear friends,

The ancient city at Caesarea – on the mediterranean coastline in Israel – is not only a scenic place to visit, with its Roman aqueduct, Crusader walls, and long sandy beach. It is famous for several historical reasons. One of these being that it was one of the first archaeological sites to confirm that Pontius Pilate was procurator in Judea, as the New Testament tells us, courtesy of a dedicatory inscription on the underside of a stone slab, which had been re-used in a later civic work. The second claim to fame is the harbour, which still exists today and can be seen from space. This harbour proves for any with eyes to see that the Romans knew how to make concrete, and waterproof concrete at that. The secret of a concrete that could withstand the corrosive effect of contact with water over time was lost as Roman civilisation collapsed, and was only rediscovered in the last century. The Roman era also bequeathed us something solid in the moral sphere, in the Christian  faith. However the media has this week concluded that we are no longer a Christian country, which, as many commentators have noted, is really an acknowledgement that there now exists a moral vacuum where once there was something solid. There is an ironic similarity in the discovery that we have also apparently forgotten how to make concrete, too.

Worship Services for Sunday 10th September

9.30am Morning Prayer at St John’s Stoke Row with Canon Kevin Davies

11am Holy Communion at St Peter and Paul, Checkendon with Canon Kevin Davies

Midweek zoom service: Wednesday Evensong at 5.00pm  410 935 129

Good News

Don’t lose heart. The house may be falling down, and everything crumbling, but we have a family in our church, and in our fellowship. Our citizenship is with Christ in his kingdom. Let us live wisely in the days that are given to us, sharing with generous hearts the gifts that God has given, chief among which is the deposit of faith that was entrusted to us. This is unshakeable.

Pray if you would for Jordi Roberts and Shihani Fernando, to be married at Checkendon a week Saturday. Pray for the family of Bob Davies, who died recently at the grand age of 97. Give thanks for all those who started school yesterday, and for all who will teach and help them learn and grow in the coming years. Pray for those whose schooling is being disrupted – some for the second time – and for their learning, perhaps unexpectedly, about coping in a crisis. It is not a bad lesson, for unlike the concrete, life is not generally a soft option.

Your Rector, Canon Kevin Davies.

PS: Matthew 7:24ff is Jesus’ take on the matter; he talks about the foundations we need for life.