The weekly newsletter for the Benefice of Laleston and Merthyr Mawr with Pen-y-Fai

The LaMMP

Easter Day – 4th April 2021

What with veils being torn away and enormous boulders being rolled back – the Easter story is synonymous with miraculous stories of new life breaking out of things that were seemingly dead : of light breaking forth and emerging victorious over darkness. In the Northern Hemisphere at least, such symbolic messages are emphasised by a surrounding natural world where the same miraculous new life is springing out of the darkness and death of winter. Neat huh ? Well ‘yes’ for us …but it does make me wonder how our friends, brothers and sisters in the Southern hemisphere manage. This Easter our church buildings (much like Jesus’ tomb) are empty, but we too have a newness to our church life and something to celebrate that - even 12 months ago - would have been unimaginable. One of the incidental ‘joys’ that the pandemic has brought, has been that all of our worship has (out of necessity) become combined. No longer able to be confined to buildings, we have united as three churches (and beyond) to find new ways of expressing our faith and rooting it in the world that we inhabit, ways that have strengthened our connections, deepened our faith and meant that our Church ‘family’ has spread its roots. We’ve even learned to time-travel thanks to those who join us in worship but whose

shared presence enables us to be in more than one place and at more than one time! Soon enough now we will return to our buildings and (hopefully) the parks and byeways of our communities, but for now at least we will celebrate this Easter online, united with those who live in Bridgend and across the world, and delighted for the miraculous gift that tells how, from the ‘tomb’ that is being locked down and cut-off, we have expanded our connectedness, grown beyond our boundaries, and maybe also burst out of the limitations that previously imprisoned our minds and hearts.

The Tomb is empty : new life has sprung forth. Jesus is not dead. He has risen indeed - alleluia.

Pasg hapus : Happy Easter. Stay safe, take care and be patient and kind. This will pass

Fr Anthony

Collect

Lord of all life and power, who through the mighty resurrection of your Son overcame the old order of sin and death to make all things new in him: grant that we, being dead to sin and alive to you in Jesus Christ, may reign with him in glory; to whom with you and the Holy Spirit be praise and honour, glory and might, now and in all eternity. Amen

A reading from the Old testament Book of the prophet Isaiah (25: 6-9) On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. Psalm 118 (14-24) The Lord is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation. There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the Lord does valiantly; the right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.” I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord. The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not give me over to death. Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (10: 34-43) Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” A reading from the Gospel according to St Mark (16: 1-8) When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.”

So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. Post Communion Living God, who for our redemption gave your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross, and by his glorious resurrection have delivered us from the power of our enemy: grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his risen life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Thoughts for the week

(Pt 1)

What are the things to which we cling - and refuse to let go? Are they healthy or are they holding us back from experiencing new life?

‘Noli me tangere’ by Antonio de Correggio (c 1495)

Noli me tangere is the Latin version of the words spoken by Jesus to Mary Magdalene when she recognised him in the garden after his resurrection. A loose translation into English would be "don't tread on me" or "don't touch me" but the original Greek phraseology translates as "cease holding on to me" or "stop clinging to me".

(With thanks (above) to Facebook’s “Mindful Christianity” page)

One of Clergy Coaching Networks favourite Easter cartoons from UK cartoonist Chris Bambrough — https://www.facebook.com/chris.bambrough

Benefice Diary

Easter 4th April 2021

THE WEEK AHEAD Sunday 4th April – Easter Day 1000 Online Worship 1830 Online Worship Tuesday 6th April 0830 Online worship Morning Prayer Wednesday 7th April 1930 Online Worship Compline Sunday 11th April – 2nd Sunday of Easter 1000 Online Worship, 1830 Online Worship

NB –Our buildings are – at present – not being used for worship, but this does not mean that we’ve stopped worshipping.

All of our communal worship is currently taking place online (below is an image from a recent Sunday morning service).

Participating in online worship is still the safest way to worship as a community at present and it’s surprisingly straightforward. In addition, even though spring is beginning to make it’s presence felt, worshipping from home is also warm and comfortable too.

Contact Anthony on blammp2013@gmail.com for joining details and we look forward to welcoming you soon. All are welcome.

Find us online at http://parish.churchinwales.org.uk/L545/ ) or on Facebook

The Stone was rolled away

A reflection for Easter from Salome (one of the women who visited the tomb)

(taken from Nick Fawcett’s “No Ordinary Man Bk 1 p197/199) The stone was rolled away. I’d no idea how, let alone what it meant, but we saw it for ourselves, pushed to one side, the tomb gaping open, almost inviting us to go inside. And I can’t tell you the relief we felt. We’d been asking each other as we walked, “How will we possibly get in?” knowing we’d never move the stone ourselves, not after watching it being rolled into place – grown men sweating with the exertion. But we’d gone anyway, desperate for something to do, some way to express our grief, some gesture to make in order to pay those last, last respects. A last look at the man we’d loved so much, that’s what we’d expected; a final anointing with the care and attention that he had so deserved but which had been denied him by our own leaders.

But what a shock we had. It was Mary, I think, who went first, and I could tell at once something was wrong: the way she stopped and gasped, but I still wasn’t prepared for what I saw – or rather what I didn’t.

For he was gone, disappeared, just the folded grave clothes left

to mark where they had laid him. We were speechless, all of us, overcome with disbelief not knowing what to think or what to do … desperately trying to wrap our heads around a situation that we’d expected to be heart-breaking, but which – almost impossibly – now seemed worse. And then, this young man appeared – don’t ask me who he was – asking what we were looking for, as if that wasn’t obvious; telling us to go elsewhere, to seek the living and not the dead. Well, we were stunned, you can imagine, it was all such a shock, so unexpected….. and we stood for ages simply nodding, grinning inanely out of a swirling range of emotions, trying, scrambling, to comprehend, trying to hide our embarrassment and trying to stop ourselves from shaking. But we went anyway… we headed for Galilee as we’d been told: the apostles came too, once they had also got over their own disbelief. And then we met him, just as we’d been told – we met Jesus. Not dead now but very much alive ... and risen with it. Alive…and victorious! Full of life, full of joy and full of hope

The stone was rolled away

and I still don’t know how. But I do know what it means and for that I must thank God. Because what it means is that my world, “the” world, …. will never be the same again. Prayer Living God, we praise you for the wonder of Easter - this day of celebration, wonder and thanksgiving – a day that changes the way we think, that changes the way we act, that changes the way we live …a day that changes everything and where all things truly are made new. We rejoice in the victory of Jesus Christ, his triumph over evil, hatred, cruelty, cold-heartedness, selfishness, despair and even death itself. Living God, we praise you for the victory you have won, for the assurance you give through Jesus that there is nothing in life or death that can separate us from your love; nothing that can finally defeat your loving purpose for ourselves and all humankind. And we offer you our praise, our selves and our souls this day. Amen.

Benefice News – Lent+ Challenges (Going the Distance for Others) & Annual Vestry Meetings

The “Lent-plus” challenges should come to their conclusion today (Easter Day) when, all things being well, Rev Tony, Menna and Fr Anthony will at some stage get out and about to “go the distance” for others one last time! Support for these challenges has been amazing (thank you very much) and next week’s LaMMP will include some final details of exactly how all three have done in their respective quests. In the meantime however you can still join in and support these efforts; Menna is contactable at mennadavid@aol.com , whilst Rev Tony and Fr Anthony both have sponsorship pages at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Anthony-Turner7 ) and https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/anthony-beer2 These allow you to pay direct to the respective charities and gift aid your donations. Alternatively, Anthony will receive donations for Toilet Twinning by cash or cheque and pay them in online but such donations cannot be gift-aided. Thank you again all for your support!

Annual Vestry Meetings 2021

Preparations are continuing for our 2021 AVM’s with a reminder that anyone wishing to join or leave the current Electoral Roll should contact Anthony asap please as amendments need to be completed by Monday 5th April.

We are also now asking for nominations from those willing to serve on Church Councils or stand as Wardens. Nomination forms along with additional information about what’s entailed in being a warden are all available from Anthony so please do get in touch. This year’s Annual Vestry Meetings will be held online (via zoom). They will take place on Tuesday 20th April (at 7pm) for Pen-y-Fai, and Tuesday 27th April (at 7pm) for Laleston & Merthyr Mawr.

Thoughts for the week

(Pt 2)

(With thanks to Facebook’s “Earthmonk”, “Mindful Christianity” pages)

Easter Fun page

(for the young at heart)

(with thanks to Facebooks “CartoonChurch.com” page)

Online Spiritual Communion (Palm Sunday)

….all are welcome to join us for our online worship. Today we will celebrate Easter online at 10.00am and 6.30pm. Details of all our upcoming worship can be

found on our diary page. All are welcome – ‘Come and See’

Please contact Anthony if you would like a name to be added to our Benefice-wide, prayer lists. It will remain for four weeks only, after which Anthony should be contacted again if the need remains

Ministry of healing (for your prayers)

Helen Waters Sue Walters Matthew Walker Linda Roger Sellick Les James Charles Cathy James Baby Hector Brian Williams

Ministry of healing (cont’d) (for your prayers)

Mary Howell Helen

Recently Departed (for the families of)

Pat Gregory Keith Stevenson Irene James

Readings for: Sunday 11th April 2021 2nd Sunday of Easter

Exodus 14: 10-31, 15: 20-21

Psalm 133 Acts 4: 32-35

John 20: 19-31

Clergy Contact Details Anthony‘s day off is Thursday

Anthony Beer, The Vicarage, Rogers Lane, Laleston CF32 0LB

Tel : 01656 859 487 e-mail :

blammp2013@gmail.com

merthyr mawr, st teilo’s church penyfai all saints church penyfai Laleston st david’s church