July 27th

“Father, hallowed be your name” – The Lord’s Prayer in Arabic

6th Sunday after Trinity

Bible readings:
Genesis 18:20-32;
Psalm 138;
Colossians 2:6-19;
Luke 11:1-13

A Prayer by Saint Ignatius of Loyola

(Commemoration 31st July)

Teach us, good Lord, to serve you
as you deserve;
to give and not to count the cost;
to fight and not to heed the wounds;
to toil and not to seek for rest;
to labour and not ask for any reward,
save that of knowing that we do your will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord
Amen

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Love as the Heart of Christian Life

Reflections on Kierkegaard

In his later work, Works of Love, the Christian philosopher Søren Kierkegaard presents a powerful understanding of love, not as a fleeting feeling, but as a deep, committed way of living. For Kierkegaard, love is both a divine command and a personal calling. To become our true selves before God means living an authentic Christian life shaped by love, following the example of Christ.

This kind of love is not based on preference or reward, but is self-giving and unconditional. Kierkegaard reminds us that love begins with the God ‘we love because He first loved us’ and it is through loving others that we respond faithfully to His love. It is not something optional but the very form of our relationship with God. When we love others in a way that expects nothing in return, we reflect God’s image and grow into the people we are called to be.

Loving our neighbour, then, becomes the core value and ethic of the Christian life. It moves us beyond self and towards spiritual maturity. Kierkegaard saw love as the pathway by which we become more fully ourselves, not in isolation, but in relationship, lived ‘before God.’

He writes that ‘God meets us at the intersection of our human limits and divine possibility.’ This meeting does not happen in the abstract, but in the real, everyday moments where we care for others. It is in these acts of love that the presence of God becomes real to us and each other, as our inward spiritual life is lived out in the world.

Personally, I have found Kierkegaard’s writing deeply moving and grounded in real-life struggle. His work challenges, but also offers great hope. Our world often prizes status and self-interest, but Kierkegaard’s Works of Love reminds us of a better, counter-cultural way, the way of Christ. – Victoria, NightChurch

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Weekly newsletter/blog and website

Please send all information for the Sunday newsletter/blog by Wednesday evening to Josie at penleeclusternewsletter@gmail.com. For anything else specifically website-related, please contact Chris at communications@penleecluster.org.uk. If you would like to write a reflection for the newsletter, please contact Josie.

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CLUSTER INFORMATION & EVENTS

Celtic Morning Prayer

Each weekday morning on zoom from 8.00am-8.30am. If you would like to attend, please email Keno admin@penleecluster.org.uk for zoom details.

Julian Prayer Group

The Julian Group will meet on zoom at 6.00pm this Sunday, 27th July. If you would like to attend, please email Mel at mlevesconte@hotmail.co.uk for zoom details.

Prayer Requests

If you are concerned about someone and would like their name included in the Prayer Request Group’s weekly prayer list, please do email Mel at mlevesconte@hotmail.co.uk by 7.00pm on Tuesday evenings. Thank you.

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Paul Church Talk

‘Tragedy and Triumph’
an illustrated talk with Mark Cottle 

Tuesday 5th August

Roald Amundsen, Robert Scott and the Race to the South Pole.

With the help of the evocative photographs of Scott’s photographer, Herbert Ponting, and some of Edward Wilson’s water colours, this session focuses on the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration, in particular, the journeys by Scott and his rival, Amundsen, to be first at the South Pole.

Doors open at 7.00pm. Talk starts at 7.30pm. £5.00 entry, includes nibbles. Drinks on sale before and afterwards.

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Holiday Club Summer 2025

Penlee Cluster Holiday Club for children continues, as we move into Week 2. We have been awarded funding for 16 days for 20 children from Time2Move, but in addition are able to accommodate between 5 -10 extra children on some days. Molly has planned a summer packed with activities for the children. We start most days at St John’s Church, using this as our base. Both our Family Workers plus a team of helpers, junior leaders and volunteers help this much needed provision to take place.

Week 2: Wild about Cornwall Myths and Legends – Mon 28th July, Tues 29th July, Thurs 31st Jul & Fri 1st Aug
Learning Cornish, Cornish Cooking, visits to Newquay and Coastal walk from Sennen to Lands End.

Week 3: Wild about Adventure – Mon 4th Aug – Thurs 7th Aug
Trips to Hayle Pitch and Putt, Lappa Valley, Godolphin and Tanglewood.

Week 4: Wild about Exploring Cornwall – Tues 12th Aug – Fri 15th Aug
Out and about at Falmouth, Portreath, Isles of Scilly and Newquay.

Day 16: Thurs 21st Aug
Surfing at Gwithian, transport and surfing supported by The National Trust.

Help needed! Although we receive a grant, this does not cover everything and as we are all aware, food costs are rising. If you are able to make a donation to Holiday Club please leave this at St Mary’s clearly marked ‘Holiday Club’ or see Keno. Might you be able to bake a cake for the children to share?  Please mark with ingredients used (as some children have allergies) and leave at St Mary’s or St John’s. Thank you in advance for your generosity.

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Art Exhibition at St. Mary’s

Last chance to see the paintings by our very own Annie Markovich on the back panels of St. Mary’s church! Included are watercolour seascapes, oil portraits of Greek heroines and Madron Church gravestone rubbings in charcoal on paper. Proceeds from sales are shared between the artist and St. Mary’s church. View daily from 10.00am -12 noon. Additional hours are possible;  please message or email Annie at anniemarkovich@mac.com

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OTHER INFORMATION & EVENTS

Pre-loved Sale at High Street Methodist Church

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Annual Eucharist for the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary

St Hilary Church – Thursday 14th August

Father Jeff Risbrudger invites friends across the Deanery of Penwith and beyond to St. Hilary’s annual Eucharist for the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a very special service in the life of St. Hilary Church. The service will be at 7.00pm on Thursday 14th August, the Eve of the Feast Day, and the President and Preacher will be The Rt Revd David Williams, the new Bishop of Truro.

The service will be followed by a light buffet supper, and Fr Jeff would be grateful if you would let Churchwarden Roger Calfe (roger.calfe@btinternet.com or 01736 763311) know nearer the time approximate numbers attending from your churches for catering purposes. Clergy and Lay Readers are invited to robe (alb and white stole for clergy) and be part of the procession and Fr Jeff would appreciate, for seating purposes, if clergy and readers would let him know if you intend to do this, in addition to notifying Roger Calfe regarding catering.

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Cancel Debt, Choose Hope

CAFOD Campaign

CTiPA (Churches Together in the Penzance Area) have highlighted CAFOD’s campaign for debt cancellation.

‘The world is currently facing one of the most acute debt crises in history. 54 countries – from Kenya to Sri Lanka – are facing debt distress. It’s the world’s poorest countries who are the worst affected, with many forced to spend more on payments to big banks, wealthy nations and global institutions than they spend on health, education or life-saving climate measures. Often, countries have already re-paid their debts once, but due to unscrupulous lenders and extortionate interest rates, they are often left paying for the original debt many times over. We need to cancel unfair debts, build better financial systems and implement fairer laws to prevent future debt crises. And the time to act is now! 2025 is a Jubilee year, which is when the Bible calls for debt cancellation to restore justice and human dignity. This Jubilee year, people across the world are uniting in solidarity to demand action on the debt crisis. Pope Francis said about this, “More than a question of generosity, this is a matter of justice.”’- CAFOD (Catholic Agency for Overseas Development)

You can sign the petition here: https://action.cafod.org.uk/page/161357/petition/1

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Debt Advice

The Salvation Army offers debt advice services to people in this area. They are free, confidential and impartial. Please dial 01752 643955 to speak to a Debt Advisor from 10.00am until 4.00pm Monday to Friday or email cornwalldas@salvationarmy.org.uk.

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