Deacon John Writes

During this week we heard a Gospel which talks to us of the qualities of being a good servant. Jesus was speaking to all of his followers, which includes us, when he said “blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.” We must never consider being a servant as being a demeaning term. We are privileged to be able to act as servants of Jesus. We must remember that, as Fr James McKarns wrote in a recent article I read, Jesus is our Lord, Rabbi, Teacher and Master. We must always be available to him even though we do not know what his plans are for us. I think we all have our own agendas but sometimes we must put them on hold so that we can follow whatever plans the Master has for us so that we can all say, as Mary said “Thy will be done”. We really should be saying “Speak Lord ; your servant is listening.”

There have been some notices in recent newsletters which are good examples of how we can be servants if we really listen and decide that we can be servants to the Lord. I have read that we need more people willing to write the Bidding Prayers – it only comes round about once every two months and does not need a computer. 

We are also in need of people to volunteer with the counting of the collection. This would be once a month if four volunteers come forward. It does involve two people every week for about an hour and a trip to the Bank in Eastbourne. Please come forward if you can to help in this important work.

There are many other areas in which we need volunteers to help, such as welcomers and readers in church. Why not give it a try! There is a line in the Gospel this Sunday which says “Master, I want to see.” We all need to see, to see His presence in what we do, for ourselves, others, the church and in the people we meet. I hope and pray that we will all “see” and do those things which we possibly can. So if you can help in any way to assist Fr Rory and those who already do, please phone or email Jackie on 01323 841504 or [email protected]. If you have already volunteered then I wish to thank you sincerely on behalf of Fr Rory, myself and the community. Thank you for reading this and, hopefully, for volunteering in either community.