
Hello everyone,
Welcome to the latest issue of our church newsletter. Our newsletter is sent out regularly to share reflections from services, Bible readings and church news with our church family. You can find previous issues on our church website here.
We would love to hear from you and are always looking for uplifting and encouraging content to share in future issues of this newsletter. If you have any ideas or content that we can share, please do email them to Louise (publicity@christchurchuxbridge.org.uk)
Opening Prayer
Jesus, open my heart
Prepare yourself to hear God’s word in a new way
Jesus, open my heart
Listen for God’s voice, calling you to serve others and love radically
Jesus, open my heart
Hold the joys, regrets and frustrations from the week, and look ahead to the opportunities next week will bring
Jesus, open my heart
Hold the people you share your life with, and the challenges that come with relationships and friendships
Jesus, open my heart
Rest a moment in the quiet
Jesus, open my heart
Amen.
(Taken from The Vine)
Reflection from 23 June
Readings – Job 38: 1-11 and Mark 4: 35-41
As I walked into the park, for my Sunday afternoon stroll, a cricket match was in play. My path took me along the boundary and I paused to watch as the bowler ran up for his delivery. I heard the sound as willow hit leather. The batsman had read it well and the ball bounced just inside the boundary line close to where I was standing ricocheting into dense undergrowth on the other side of the path.
The nearest fielder came over to search for it without success. Another fielder came to help but also without success. A third fielder arrived armed with a borrowed bat to beat down the undergrowth. In the meantime, the whole match had come to a standstill. Nothing further could happen until this small piece of round cork covered in leather was retrieved or, if necessary, replaced.
At the end of the day, when the statistics of the match were written, it would be recorded which, if either, side had won and by how much. The batsman who had scored the most runs, the bowler who had taken the most wickets, the fielder who had caught the most shots would be praised and the dropped catches laughed about. The tactics of the team captains would be analysed. No one would give further thought to the ball which had been hit and scuffed and thrown from fielder to fielder. But without that ball none of it could have happened.
Cricket is not my game and I did not wait to see whether the ball was eventually located. For those whose game it is, it becomes all absorbing. There is so much to think about that the importance of what makes it all possible becomes forgotten – until it is no longer there. Then everything stops and only then priorities as to what is really important change.
Sport reflects life and in life too what we give our attention to and value most often ignores what is most important. It was only when we were locked down for the first time and living in fear that the person next to us, or the surface we had just touched, might be a threat to our health and possibly our life; that many people began to recognise and appreciate just how important those whom we began to call “key workers” are to our life. Up until that time what they did had largely been taken for granted and not valued in any significant material way compared to others (including elite professional sportsmen and women). Once the crisis was over that recognition and appreciation faded.
None of this is new. The book of Job contains a very ancient story. The passage we heard from it rebukes people of any generation who do not recognise the importance of God to their very existence. It would probably be fair to say that for most people, most of the time, there is quite enough other things going on in their lives for them to think about not to be spending time appreciating that God is actually essential to all of it.
It is only when things go wrong and God does not seem to be there when needed, when the life we enjoyed or, at least, had become accustomed to comes to a stop that questions are asked, and searches made, to see if his presence can be found. Even, if found, life usually reverts to normal (meaning as it was before) as soon as possible.
But our passage from the Book of Job challenges that attitude as it should be challenged. If we listen rather than just hearing its words; it challenges us to ask just who is it that is the origin of everything we know and enjoy and depend on for our life? Who are we? How relevant are our questions? How important are our priorities? What are our achievements in comparison to God?
Mark’s account of Jesus stilling the storm illustrates this well. We think of it as a miracle that, if believed literally, proves that God was actually present in the life of Jesus and that, therefore, he is someone that has authority which other human beings cannot possess. But if we then believe that God was present in this person Jesus; is the way Jesus is treated in the story also the way we treat God?
What we know of Jesus was that he was not a sailor. He was an itinerant preacher and healer who came from a background in the building trade. A journey across the Sea of Galilee needs to be navigated by people who know what they are doing. This is work for people who come from a practical background in fishing not for someone who may have a great relationship with God; but does not know how to navigate a boat.
So, he comes on board as a passenger only and is allowed to sleep out of the way in the back of the boat. Providing he keeps out of the way his presence can be forgotten about until the end of the journey whilst the guys who know what they are doing get on with the job.
How like us.
How like us to too that when, despite all our experience and confidence that we know what we are doing and have the skills needed to handle what life throws at us, we hit something that we did not expect:
- we come to a point of realising that maybe this is something we cannot handle on our own;
- we come to a point of realising that this is something that threatens our ability to complete the journey we have set out on and our whole lives.
Now and only now, we start asking questions about where God is in all of this. Now and only now, in our desperation; we go in search of God whom, up until now, has been a passenger only and ignored on our journey. Now and only now; we seek to wake this God and ask questions about his apparent lack of concern at our plight. Now and only now, in our realisation of the desperate situation we are in; we seek his power to save us.
What an amazing God who, despite the way we treat him, has the grace to say we are all in this together and does not hesitate to save us. What an amazing God who, despite all our self-righteous questions and the esteem we think we should be given for our achievements, can fill us with great awe and cause us to ask: “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (4:41 NRSV)
Richard Reid
Readings for 30 June
Mark 5: 21-43
Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman
21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23 He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” 24 So Jesus went with him.
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed. 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”
36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 But they laughed at him.
After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
Further readings from the lectionary this week are as follows:
- Lamentations 3:22-33
- Psalm 30
- 2 Corinthians 8:7-15
Our worship
We meet at 11am for our Sunday services, which are also live-streamed on our YouTube channel. If you wish to view our services online, you can find them at https://www.youtube.com/@christchurchuxbridge
You can also view a recent service on our church website. Our service this week will be a communion service led by Revd John Mackerness, URC minister and chaplain at Heathrow Airport. You can find the order of service here.
If you are unable to join us in person or online for our Sunday services, but would like to receive a recording of them on a memory stick to watch at home, please let us know.
Forthcoming services
30 June – Revd John Mackerness (URC minister) – Holy Communion
7 July – Neil Mackin (Christ Church member and trainee URC lay preacher)
14 July – Christ Church worship group – parade service and service of thanksgiving to mark Stephanie Marr’s retirement as Girls’ Brigade Captain
21 July – Helen Schoon (Methodist local preacher)
News from BB and GB
Annual Display – Friday 5th July
1st Uxbridge BB and GB invite you to their Annual Display to be held on Friday 5th July from 7pm to about 8.30pm in Christ Church Halls. The evening will include items from each of our Sections and also some joint items. This is an evening when we can celebrate the talent we have in our BB and GB Companies and, hopefully, have a bit of fun too! Please come along if you can.
Awards Evening – Friday 12th July
Our Awards Evening will be held in Christ Church from 6.30pm until 8pm. During the evening the Boys and Girls will receive the badges they have earned during the year and special awards for this year will also be presented. If you would like to come and join in the congratulations to our youngsters, you would be very welcome.

From the Circuit
Farewell to Revd Nigel Cowgill
Nigel’s time as a Chair of the District is coming to an end in August. To thank him for all his work and service to the London District and wider church the District is holding a Farewell Service on Sunday 21 July at Hinde Street Methodist Church, W1U 2QJ. The afternoon will start with refreshments from 5:30pm, followed by a service at 6:30pm. If you would like to attend, please register at https://tinyurl.com/nigelcowgillfarewell
CTU AGM
Sunday 30th June 2024, 1pm at the Quaker Meeting House, York Road, Uxbridge
This year’s Churches Together in Uxbridge AGM will be taking place on Sunday 30th June at the Quaker Meeting House. All are welcome to join us for a shared lunch from 1pm, followed by the AGM where we will also be welcoming a speaker, Judy Barber, who will talk about her experiences working as an Ecumenical Accompanier for EAPPI in Israel and Palestine.
The Dragon & The Virgin: Religion in Uxbridge book launch
St Margaret’s Church
Saturday 20th July, 4pm til 5pm
Published by Britain’s fastest growing producer of local history books, this book covers the sweep of religious history in Uxbridge. While primarily focused on the parish church of St Margaret, we are introduced to St Andrew’s church, the Roman Catholic community and the non-conformist movements which emerged in Uxbridge. The next chapter to emerge in the history of Uxbridge will be the growing diversity of faith communities in the Hillingdon Borough.
Speakers include Fr Nicholas Schofield, Uxbridge historian Ken Pearce and author of The Dragon and the Virgin Reverend Andy Thompson.
Copies of the book will be available at a discounted price and there will be book signing by the author.
Tea and cakes provided.
Children’s Corner

Dates for your diary
30 June | CTU AGM |
10 July | Welcome Wednesday |
24 July | Welcome Wednesday |
4 September | Welcome Wednesday |
8 September | Congregational Meeting |
18 September | Welcome Wednesday |
24 November | Congregational Meeting |
Praying for other churches
This week we hold our own church, Christ Church, in our prayers.
Closing prayer
Go with courage, followers of the Christ.
Jesus the Christ is restoring the whole of creation,
Holding all things together.
Today, as I go from this place, I choose to play my part in that restoration.
And may the peace of God go with me, every single step of the way.
Amen.
(Taken from The Vine)