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Welcome to the Benefice web site for the churches of St. Mary's Berkeley, All Saints' Stone and St. Michael's Hill (please see the individual links to our church web sites). To contact the Vicar, Richard Avery, please us the 'Contact Us' link on the left. The diary is at the bottom of this page or use the 'Calendar' link in the left hand margin. |
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God moves in mysterious ways |
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Written by Richard Avery
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Thursday, 01 July 2010 00:00 |
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I’ve never had a ride in an ambulance before and I didn’t plan my excursion on 6th May. I was in stunned shock when Dr Walshe told me he would order an ambulance and get me in to Gloucester Royal Hospital. But I was pleased to see the ambulance arrive and relieved that something was being done about the fever that I’d been struggling with for over a week. So instead of voting for who would run the NHS, I got to experience first hand the benefits of such a health service. And, as most of you know, they did find out why I had such a persistent fever. Praise God for the benefits of modern medicine!
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Last Updated on Friday, 09 July 2010 08:02 |
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Written by Christine Birkett
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Tuesday, 01 June 2010 00:00 |
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“He must increase but I must decrease.” John 3:30
By the time you read this it will be June, summer will be with us and we have lots to look forward to and enjoy: weddings, roses, Trooping the Colour, tennis at Wimbledon and strawberry teas. As I write this I have Rogers and Hammerstein’s ‘Carousel’ ringing in my ears.
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Written by Richard Chidlaw
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Thursday, 01 April 2010 00:00 |
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Lord, who createdst man in wealth and store,
Though foolishly he lost the same,
Decaying more and more
Till he became
Most poore.
With Thee
O let me rise,
As larks, harmoniously,
And Sing this day thy victories:
Then shall the fall further the flight in me.
You might have thought that "shape poems" were something that were invented fairly recently in primary school practice, but here is George Herbert (author of the hymn "King of Glory, King of Peace") writing a shape poem in the early 17th century. You need to turn it sideways to see the effect of the "angel" wings and notice how he has shaped the meaning to the form. The lines get shorter and shorter as Man's lot gets worse and worse, following Adam's Fall in the Garden of Eden, but the Fall is counteracted by the Rise of the Resurrection and so Easter brings, through Christ's Resurrection, the chance to regain that which was lost and the lines regain their former length.
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Written by Richard Avery
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Saturday, 01 May 2010 00:00 |
Counting in the years before I was ordained, I've experienced 40 Holy Week and Easter celebrations. 2010 was the most memorable of all. I did believe that having a team from Trinity College would be a blessing to our churches. But what happened far exceeded my expectations.
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Written by David Frith
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Monday, 01 March 2010 00:00 |
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Have you too been shocked by how fast the time seems to go by? “Goodness me, February is nearly over, and it doesn’t seem any time since Christmas!”
There is no doubt modern life is much faster-paced than even a few years ago. The latest technology means we can get information even faster, and so the pace of work and life speeds up to match; we can get lots of emails sent in the time it would take to write one letter. The reply to the letter could take days; we are often irritated if our emails aren’t answered the same day! So partly we are responsible for the pressure we put on ourselves: the volume of things that can get done increases, so do our expectations, and as a result the time appears to fly by; OK if things are going well, when a swift-paced life is interesting and exciting, but when we start to fall behind, we’re forever catching up, and life becomes harder and more laborious.
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