Friday 10th July 11.30am 

                                                                                             w/c Sunday 12^th July 2026

Dear Friends,

Did you know that this Sunday is Sea Sunday? Don’t worry – I didn’t either! But what an important Sunday it is, as it offers an opportunity to pray for our seafarers and to give thanks for their crucial work.  
The theme for Sea Sunday 2026 is ‘with them in every storm’. This reminds us that it has been a particularly difficult year for seafarers, the men and women who bring us more than 90% of everything we own and use. 
Perhaps this Sunday we could each be encouraged to remember and pray for those “in peril on the sea.”  
You will find a prayer from the Sailor’s Society is at the end of the Newsletter.

Thought for the week: 

Jesus said, “A farmer went out to scatter seed in his field.” Matthew 13:3.
Ah, yes, that’s the Parable of the Sower. Know that one.
It means we are all meant to be like the good soil, bearing Christian fruit. Got it.
Sorted. But, hang on a moment. Perhaps it’s not as simple as that. Jesus’ parables were often very open-ended.
They left people thinking about what he had said, and what it meant.

So when he says, “He who has ears, let him hear,” that is an invitation to think and explore.

In the Gospels we are given an explanation for the Parable of the Sower, an explanation which sees the parable as an allegory – i.e. each element in the story represents some particular thing in life.
So the sower is God or Jesus, the seed is his teaching, and the different soils are different responses to that teaching.
The point of the story then is for us to think about our responses – which soil are we like?

But though Jesus is described as giving this explanation it is possible to read the parable in a different way.
Look at the story from the point of view of the farmer.
He goes out to sow the seed, which will then be ploughed in.
He clearly hopes for a good crop, but as soon as his back is turned birds are gobbling up some of the seed, and even after germination, some very quicky fizzles in the summer sun, and some gets taken over and choked by brambles, etc, and again fizzles out.
Lots of frustration.
And yet at the end there is a bumper harvest.

This reflects Jesus’ ministry. Much that seemed frustrating, even hopeless – this little band of squabbling followers, so much rejection and hostility. And yet…

And it reflects church life too. Yes, we see many good things, but we do need to be thoroughly realistic about the problems we face – e.g. small and elderly congregations in many churches, the total apathy of so many people around us, finance pressures, fewer clergy, etc.
We could despair. But the parable ends in a bountiful harvest.
That speaks of God still with us. Difficulties and set-backs can be real and challenging.
And of course a period of vacancy before the appointment of a new Team Rector will be challenging.
But this reading of the parable urges us to stay faithful, trusting in God who will ultimately bring harvest.

George Day

Notices and Diary

• July 11th 10am – 12 noon Coffee morning at Dean Prior Village Hall. Cake and book stalls plus a Raffle are included to raise funds for our Church.
• July 11th 3-6 pm Littlehempston village fete – supporting the church and community meadow. To be held in a field on the Staverton side of the village.
• Sunday 12th July 11am-4pm Sally Goodman is opening Somerswood lake, South Brent again for St Luke’s hospice.

Sat 11^th July                         Coffee morning at Dean Prior Village Hall 10am – 12pm

Littlehempston village fete 3-6pm

Sun 12^th July                        Somerswood lake, South Brent open 11-4 in aid of St Luke’s Hospice

Wed15^th July                       St Petroc’s Morning Prayer at 8.30am

Thought for the week at 10am by zoom and telephone

St Petroc’s Parish Lunch 12.30-1.30pm

Fri 17^th July                           Morning Prayer at 9am by zoom and telephone

Almighty God,

we remember those whose lives are lived on your great oceans.

For those who go down to the sea in ships, we give thanks; they enrich our lives at great personal cost.
May they daily feel the strength of your protection,

the warmth of your presence and the love of your relationship as they seek the hope of safe passage.
Amen

 Know you are in my heart and in my prayers.
Rev Gina