Notices for Sunday 16 August
TRINITY 11
10am Order of Service – https://stpetersleck.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Summer-Sundays-2026.pdf
Readings
Isaiah 56.1, 6-8; Romans 11.1-2a, 29-32; Matthew 15.21–28
Collect
God of constant mercy, who sent your Son to save us: remind us of your goodness, increase your grace within us, that our thankfulness may grow, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
MORNING PRAYER
Morning Prayer is live-streamed at 9am each morning during school term-time (Mon-Thu) from www.stpetersleck.org or www.facebook.com/southcheltenham
You can also join in person as follows:
Mon – Pip & Jim’s, Tue – St. Christopher’s, Wed – Emmanuel, Thu – St. Peter’s.
Morning Prayer will resume on Monday 7th September
LIVESTREAMS
* The live-stream for the 10am service will usually be available from:
www.stpetersleck.org or www.facebook.com/stpetersleckhampton
CALENDAR of events
Click here to see upcoming events
OFFERTORY
We do not take a collection at St. Peter’s during the service, but you can make a donation using the card machine, which is facing you as you come in, or by using the basket if cash. You can also make a donation online.
REST IN PEACE
Please let Revd Gary, Revd Jade or Revd Melissa know if there is anyone who has died recently so that prayers can be said for them and their families.
PRAYERS
Please let Revd Gary, Revd Jade or Revd Melissa know of anyone who has died recently or who needs prayer at this time. See church website also:
https://stpetersleck.org/for-our-prayers/
PRAYER FOR THETFORD
God of the stranger and the neighbour, we pray today for Thetford.
For those seeking asylum whose homes have been surrounded by angry crowds; for people who have already travelled through fear and uncertainty, only to find fear waiting for them here.
For police officers facing aggression as they try to keep people safe, especially the officer seriously injured this week.
And we pray, too, for those gathered in anger— because hatred does not appear from nowhere.
Fear is fed. Suspicion grows. And slowly we can begin to look at another human being and see a threat instead of a neighbour.
Jesus, you were once a refugee, carried by your parents into another country in search of safety.
Teach us, then, to recognise you in those who arrive among us now.
Where there is legitimate anxiety, help us to listen and speak truthfully.
Where there is misinformation, expose it.
Where there is racism, give us courage to name it.
Where anger has hardened into hatred, soften hearts.
And keep us from the comfortable Christianity which talks about loving our neighbour until the neighbour is someone we did not choose.
Make our churches places where strangers become friends, where fear is met with relationship, and where nobody has to earn the right to be treated as human.
God of peace, protect those who are frightened today.
Strengthen those working to keep others safe.
And make of us a people who refuse hatred and choose, stubbornly and practically, the harder way of love.
Amen.
Prayer from Pip & Jim’s, Leckhampton
PRAYER FOR THE PEOPLE OF VENEZUELA
Loving God,
When the earth trembles and homes fall to dust, hold our hearts, God.
When grief shakes families to the core, hold our hearts, God.
Send our hands and feet to help however we can.
Our sisters and brothers in Venezuela live this now.
God of love and mercy, may we match your love in the way we respond – now.
Amen
To donate to the emergency appeal, go to:www.christianaid.org.uk/appeals/emergencies/venezuela-earthquake-appeal
PRAYERS FOR PEACE
Please pray for peace and an end to war in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and Iran.
CONFLICT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Please for pray for peace: protection of the innocent, wisdom for world leaders and a willingness for neighbours to be reconciled.
Please do read Bishop Rachel’s reflections, Oranges and lemons which relate to the situation at https://gloucester.anglican.org/2026/
See the Pastoral letter from the Archbishop of Jerusalem and the Middle East sent to Bishop Rachel on 28th Feb.
To donate to the DEC Middle East Humanitarian Appeal, go to:www.dec.org.uk/appeal/middle-east-humanitarian-appeal
Prayer from Christian Aid
DAILY BIBLE STUDY APP
Everyday Faith is a series of reflections, prayers and stories. It will provide you with daily reflections, which you can read and/or listen to, including selected Bible readings, a simple prayer to prepare you for the day ahead, and thoughts based on that week’s theme.
Download the free app from the App Store or from Google Play.
DAILY PRAYER APP
The Daily Prayer has the services and readings for the day.
If you have a mobile, then you may wish to download the Daily Prayer app (available from ), which will have the services and readings for the day.
Download the app from Church House Publishing – there is a subscription charge.
DAILY REFLECTIONS – ART & GOSPEL
You can subscribe to a daily gospel reading and art reflection at the following website: https://christian.art
HOLIDAY SEASON
Jesus says: “Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matt 6:33).
I offer this verse for the summer weeks ahead, as all of us, whether of school age or not, live, I hope, a little differently. May it be an opportunity to lay before God the things that really matter; to be refreshed and renewed, restored for all that lies ahead in the year to come.
Bishop Robert, 14th July 2026
NOTICES
See also the Noticeboard.
All contributions should be emailed directly to parishofficeleck@gmail.com by 5pm each Wednesday.
Any notices over 70 words may be edited if space is short.
Please email parishofficeleck@gmail.com if you would like to be added to the newsletter distribution list.
Click here for the latest quarterly newsletter.
*PARISH OFFICE CLOSED*
The Parish Office will be closed for staff holidays from Tues 11th Aug until
Weds 19th Aug inclusive.
** COTTAGES GATES **
Please can you ensure the gates, which lead into the cottages, are pulled shut behind you on a Sunday after the service, to ensure any children playing in the garden are not able to run out into the drive way.
JUNIOR CHURCH
Children – pre-schoolers and juniors – There are things to do in the children’s area each Sunday.
Please see the Junior Church webpages for information and online activities: https://stpetersleck.org/mesmerize/groups-at-st-peters/junior-church/
The next First Sunday Special is New Beginnings on 6th September.
LITTLE PEBBLES
Little Pebbles, for babies, pre-schoolers and their carers, meets every Tues 10-11.30am during term-time in the Cottages. The next session is Tues 8th September.
CHOIR – BASSES SOUGHT!
The choir is keen to find more bass singers to join their ranks. If you would like to hear more, please contact Kit via the Parish Office.
CCP FOOD COLLECTIONS
Many thanks to everyone who contributes to CCP. Donations can be left in the porch or can be collected from your home, just drop an email to gilly_whittingham@btinternet.com
If you prefer you can donate directly online.
Many thanks, Gilly Whittingham.
GAZA – Why is the world letting it happen?
Fri 4th Sept, 7pm @ Highbury Congregational Church, GL52 6DT
A talk by Professor Nick Maynard, a surgeon with experience working in Gaza.
ECO CHURCH NOTICES
Click here for further eco tips and green news.The GREEN Calendar is here: www.stpetersleck.org/green-calendar.
Bat News
The latest issue of Bat News can be found here or at is on the website at
stpetersleck.org/green-news/#bats:
There is also a paper copy on the Eco Noticeboard in the Cottages.
Water Saving Tips
Water is a precious gift from God to treasure, protect and share
To see some ideas for saving water, go to: www.stpetersleck.org/water-saving-tips
Churchyard Maintenance
Please contact Brad via the Parish Office if you help with grass cutting or other jobs.
TEAM
Please do read Bishop Rachel’s reflection, ‘Oranges and lemons’ on the middle east: https://gloucester.anglican.org/2026/
SOUTH CHELTENHAM YOUTH
See stpetersleck.org/noticeboard/#SCY-midweek
Regular Youth Groups are now taking a break. For information about summer activities, contact abbie@southcheltyouth.org.uk
SUMMER REFLECTION
Summer is traditionally a time for us to find some time to relax and perhaps take a break. The longer hours of daylight naturally give us more space and time and an opportunity to be more relaxed.
Do you feel more relaxed?
Autumn follows and is a time of preparation, whilst winter finds us resisting the cold and the dark, before spring heralds a time of new life and rapid growth. This change and movement in the seasons is, I think, good for us and part of the blessing of a (mostly) temperate climate.
There is much that is good about this but modern life puts such pressure on us that we are often too busy to slow down and take a break; this is why holidays are so important.
Holidays are in many respects an artificial season, however, we often have to work so hard ahead of them (to make sure everything is up-to-date and that we’re ready to take a break) that, when we stop, we struggle with the sudden transition and it takes a long time to feel relaxed. I have often got to the end of mine and thought ‘now I need a break’.
Life is full of seasons, some short and others longer, and I believe all of us share that experience. As Solomon, the writer of Ecclesiastes, said:
‘For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.’ (Eccl. 3.1)
I don’t know if it is a modernist perspective but it seems to me that in our present culture we often want to deny this truth.
We think that life should always be summer, always relaxing and full of the good things of life, but life’s not like that. We all know that in the end material things will fail us or that, however many possessions we have, we will still die and leave it to another who may or may not deal wisely with our legacy. As Solomon also says,
‘There is nothing new under the sun.’ (Eccl. 1.9)
Every excess and every path to wisdom have all been tried by someone somewhere before.
So in which season do you find yourself travelling at the moment? Is everything rosy in your garden, is life rich and varied and good? For some this will be a time of tears or worry or hurt or conflict or stress for all sorts of reasons. There is a time to break down and a time to build up, a time to plant and a time to reap the harvest. Some things in life we are better able to determine, influence or control than others; so how do we view them, and what is our perspective on what is truly important and what is not?
Of course if you believe the universe is a random and purposeless result of chance then such philosophy will have no purpose. But if you believe in something beyond the present, then how does that shape your interpretation of the present and your aims for the future? At the end of Ecclesiastes, Solomon concludes that once life’s experiences have come and gone, we will all be brought into the light and love of God’s presence, where justice and wisdom will prevail. Here, he says, we will give an account of how we have done, how we have prevailed amidst the challenges of modern life. So perhaps you can use this artificial holiday season to find some quiet time, when you can stop and reflect on what is important in your life, and discern how you might take that into the coming seasons. And if you have time this summer, read the book of Ecclesiastes, for it is a wisdom book full of interesting verses to guide us to the greater meaning of life.
Revd Gary.