TO KNOW GOD AND TO MAKE GOD KNOWN
Lent with the Church of England
Serving at the Margins
Week 4 • Thursday
'When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, "Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me." Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?" And the king will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me." Then he will say to those at his left hand, "You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me." Then they also will answer, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?" Then he will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me." And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.'
Matthew 25.31-46
Perhaps it's because Jesus knows human beings are a bag of mixed motives that he speaks this way. Sometimes we do good for the sake of our reputations, to be seen and celebrated, or to grow in self-esteem. Perhaps we do good for religious reasons.
But Jesus' sermon makes clear that those who care for the most vulnerable, serving their genuine needs, do God's will. Jesus' words reveal the heart of God: Christ-followers must care for the forgotten corners of society, treat people with dignity and respect, love and compassion.
In Jesus' day, this was radical. In our day, Christ calls his Church to intentional service at the margins. We serve those who may have little to offer in return, because that's what Jesus has done for us. And in caring for people at the margins, we serve him.
Response
Who are the people in your community today whose needs are overlooked? How might you or your church intentionally move toward them, not for recognition or reward, but simply because that's where Jesus is?
Our vicar is Rev Elaine Atack
Contact: revelaine@nym.hush.com
PRAYER WALL:
You can write a prayer and light a virtual candle on our prayer wall: https://slfchurch.org/prayerwall
Please pass your requests to Rev Elaine at the Vicarage if you haven’t got internet access.
ONLINE PODCASTS:
The menu for our podcasts is at the top left of the page
Our Parish Hall
Frodsham Parish Hall
Frodsham Parish Hall is owned by St Laurence Church and can be booked by contacting our Booking Secretary: Louise Wright on 07869 265791
or emailing her at saintells@gmail.com
You can go to the Parish Hall Facebook page here
About Us
Who are we?
Baptisms and Weddings
Baptisms and Weddings
We are a warm, welcoming and inclusive Church of England congregation in the small market town of Frodsham. We belong to Inclusive Church and welcome all people to our services.
Normally, our church is open during the day on most weekdays - please see the notice above for this week's times.
You are most welcome to visit.
We have a Church School which you can link to here.
Baptisms and Weddings
Baptisms and Weddings
Baptisms and Weddings
Sunday Services
Baptisms and Weddings
Sunday Services
We have 3 communion services each week - please check our timetable above
Sunday 8am - said
Sunday 10am - with music
Tuesday 7pm - said
Messy Church is at 3pm on the first Sunday of the month in term time.
Still Point (a reflective service) is at 4pm on the third Sunday of each month.
Evensong is sung on various Sundays through the year and will be shown on our timetable which you can see above.
Online donations page and QR code
The work of our church is reliant on people’s generosity. We worship in a beautiful Grade 1 listed building which is open most weekdays between 10am and 4pm and we welcome you to visit us. Please check times in the timetable near the top of this page.
If you wish to make a donation to St Laurence Church you can do so here.
We give to our church in a variety of ways but there are two ways it can be done online, both described below.
YOU CAN MAKE A DONATION BY CLICKING HERE or use our QR code
