Holy Trinity Church, Huddersfield
Sunday 25th October, 2020

This last week was a very strange one for us. We were told on Tuesday that our Granddaughter had been sent home from school, coughing, we are in a bubble with her, our daughter and son-in law, and I had collected her from school on the Monday so from Tuesday lunchtime we were in isolation.

6.30am on Thursday morning we got the news that her Covid test results had come in and the test was negative. 42 hours in isolation is a lot better than 14 days. But Wednesday was strange, I am fine with not going out all day and I had planned to stay in on Wednesday, but having to stay in and not being able to go out felt a lot different.

Also on the subject of the pandemic, the government’s interactive Covid map, https://coronavirus-staging.data.gov.uk/details/interactive-map, shows that the only districts in the Huddersfield area to be in the highest purple colour for infection rates were the Edgerton and Marsh area and the Paddock and Greenhead area. The whole of Holy Trinity’s parish, my home and Greenhead Park are in this area. (Rolling rates, seven days to 17 October are 478.1 in 100,000 in Edgerton and Marsh and 424.8 in Paddock and Greenhead. Both areas show the rate rising.

Today it was good to hear the voice of Sharon Prentis again, reading the lesson in the 8am service on BBC local radio. Sharon was with us at Holy Trinity from 2006 to 2012 when her husband Calvert was vicar here, has been ordained a priest in the Church of England, and is currently Dean of Black and Minority Ethnic Affairs for the Church of England in Birmingham and will be installed in the honorary role on 22nd November. That service is still available via the BBC Sounds app.

Youth Minister Wayne started the harvest service by showing his favourite fruit, bananas and least favourite vegetable, sprouts, he then ate the sprout raw. He said yuck, but I like sprouts.

Psalm 65:8-9 was used to introduce the worship, the whole Psalm would later be used as the reading.

⁸ The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
    where morning dawns, where evening fades,
    you call forth songs of joy.
⁹ You care for the land and water it;
    you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
    to provide the people with corn,
    for so you have ordained it.

The Welcome Centre, which describes itself as a food bank and more, was one of the charities we were asked to donate to in the run up to this service. A video was shown where they said thank you to the people who have supported them this year.

The sermon was by Chris Bishop, an Ordinand. He said: Autumn is loved by lots of people, others not so much, seeing fallen leaves as no more than rubbish. (Editor’s note, I love the crunchy sound leaves make underfoot. Has anyone else noticed how different types of leaf rustle differently?)

The psalm starts with people drawing near to God. You mat think that God will not forgive you, but he will not give up on you, no matter what you have done. What we see it in the sacrifice of the Son that God longs for us to be with him. The veil in the Temple has been torn in two, we have access to God

Nature demonstrates God’s power and sovereignty. The very motion of the planet is from God. God achieves victory over the chaos of the cosmos in creation.

The recovery of joy is found in Jesus Christ and we glorify God.

God’s abundabce breaks through into out lives in a world that can be bleak.

Sing a new song of praise through Christ that goes on through eternity.

(Sermon notes are short this week as I was unwell last night.)