SAINT JAMES THE GREAT - 25 JULY

The Feast of Saint James is a commemoration of the apostle James the Great celebrated on July 25 by the Anglican, Roman Catholic, Lutheran and other Protestant churches.

Two of Jesus’s apostles were named James: James the son of Zebedee, and James the son of Alpheus. The former is traditionally called James the Great because of the greater importance he played in the Gospel narrative. The latter is traditionally called James the Lesser.

James was the brother of John the Gospel writer. They were the sons of Zebedee and Salome who ministered to Jesus and his close circle of disciples. The Gospels of Matthew and Mark record James’ calling.

“[Jesus] walked a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.” (Mark 1:19–20).

Among the Twelve Apostles, Peter, James, and John are recorded in the Gospels as being present at three special events that the others were not. First, when Jesus cured Jairus’ daughter, Jesus brought these three into the house with Him (Mark 5:37). Second, it was only these three whom Jesus took with Him when He was transfigured in glory on top of a high mountain (Matthew 17:1–9, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28–36). Finally, these three alone accompanied Jesus after the Last Supper during Jesus’ Agony in the Garden (Matthew 26:36–46, Mark 14:32–42).

James and his brother John are also known for boldly asking Jesus that they sit at His left and right when He entered His Kingdom. (Mark 10:35–45). They also wanted to call down fire from heaven to punish the Samaritan towns that did not accept Jesus. It was on account of their excessive zeal that they are referred to as the “Sons of Thunder” (see Mark 3:17).

The last mention of James in the Bible is found in Acts 12:1–3. Herod Agrippa, who ruled Judea from AD41–44, martyred James the Great, the first apostle to be martyred. ‘He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.’ (Acts12.2)

A later tradition states that James travelled to Spain to preach the Gospel before returning to Jerusalem to endure martyrdom. That same tradition states that after his martyrdom, his body was taken to Spain by his followers. The exact site of his burial was lost for centuries. In the ninth century, a hermit named Pelagius observed a star or a cluster of stars that led him to Saint James’ burial site. After the discovery, King Alfonso II ordered the construction of a church over his grave; the site is now referred to as Santiago (Saint James) of Compostela (field of stars). Since that time, the site has been a major pilgrimage site.

The Camino de Santiago (Way of Saint James) is a route travelled on foot from various starting points in France, Spain, and Portugal that all lead to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela where Saint James is believed to have been buried. The longest route begins on the French side of the Pyrenees and stretches almost 500 miles. Other routes are shorter than 100 miles. In 2023, 446,000 pilgrims walked the Camino.

Saturday the 3rd August 9.30 to 12.30 with a light lunch to follow. 

We are in the process of writing the Parish Profile and  we are keen as a church to work together to identify what our priorities are for our church and the people God has placed us amongst.

We want to provide an opportunity to think about our vision for the future, the job of our next leader and what sort of person we feel might be called to this role. 

To this end we are providing the opportunity to spend time listening to God, to each other, and most importantly praying, in order to help us discern our vision and what might be needed from the next vicar. 

Some questions to be thinking about before the day:

 What is valued about our church? 

What is done well? 

What is good/of God? 

Where have we noticed God at work in and around our church?

As we are catering for this event we do need to have an idea of numbers so please can you email Ros / Sue Witney and for this to be done by the 29th July.

Thanks

Mark Puddy and Sue Witney

Revelation 3:14-22

John 15:1-8

IN YOUR PRAYERS THIS WEEK

• God's peace and justice in all war torn places of the world, but especially in Ukraine, Gaza Sudan and Yemen
• the people of South East Asia suffering from severe flooding, the people of Afghanistan, suffering from severe storms, and the people of Chad suffering a humanitarian crisis caused by the influx of refugees from the war in Sudan
• the bereaved
• the sick, in mind, body or spirit
• wisdom for our churchwardens and PCC, as we begin the process of finding a successor to John, and for God to bring us exactly the right person as our new vicar
  
• God to bless John and Camilla in their final weeks in the parish

Our Next Services