Bulletin, 20 July, with Readings, Collects and Notices
Sunday 20 July 2025
(The Sunday between 17 and 23 July)
Christ in the House of Martha and Mary
Johannes Vermeer, 1655
Public Domain
Hymns
94 - In the name of Jesus
611 - Christ be beside me
96 - Jesus is Lord! Creation's voice proclaims it
509 - Your kingdom come, O God
Collect Two
Almighty and everlasting God,
by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church is governed and sanctified:
Hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people,
that in their vocation and ministry they may serve you
in holiness and truth to the glory of your name;
through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
The First Reading Amos 8: 1-12
This is what the Lord God showed me—a basket of summer fruit. He said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass them by. The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day,” says the Lord God; “the dead bodies shall be many, cast out in every place. Be silent!”
Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land, saying, “When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances, buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat.” The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds. Shall not the land tremble on this account, and everyone mourn who lives in it, and all of it rise like the Nile, and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?
On that day, says the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight. I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head; I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day. The time is surely coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it.
The Psalm Psalm 52
The Second Reading Colossians 1: 15-28
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him— provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.
I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. I became its servant according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
The Gospel Reading Luke 10: 38-42
Hear the gospel of our Saviour Christ, according to Saint Luke, chapter 10, beginning at verse 38.
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’
This is the gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Post Communion Prayer
Holy and blessed God,
as you give us the body and blood of your Son,
guide us with your Holy Spirit,
that we may honour you not only with our lips
but also with our lives;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Collect of The Word
Eternal God,
you draw near to us in Christ,
and you make yourself our guest.
Amid the cares of our lives,
make us attentive to your presence,
that we may treasure your word above all else,
through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.
Some remaining summer dates
Subject to change
Sunday 20 July Mini-pilgrimage on Achill, starting at St Thomas’s at 3pm. See https://tlk.ie/mini-pilgrimage
Sunday 27 July, Reek Sunday:
- Communion on the Mountain, 10.30am This year our Church of Ireland parishes have been invited, most kindly, by our ecumenical friends from the Roman Catholic Diocese to avail of the Oratory on Croagh Patrick to hold a service in our own church tradition. We are grateful for their generosity and we plan to hold a short service at 10.30am for any in our communities who would like to join.
- 2.30pm Gentle walk-and-talk-and-pray For those who wish to enter in to the spirit and joy of the day but are unable to make the climb, there will be the opportunity to gather in the Murrisk carpark and with a few others at the St Patrick statue at the foot of the mountain for prayer and reflection.
Sunday 10 August Bishop Michael will preside at Holy Communion at 3pm in St Thomas's, Dugort, Achill. Please join him if you are able.
Saturday 23 August Return to Inishbiggle. Details to follow. Tbc
Sunday 24 August Late Summer Get-Together, gathering at 3pm at the park gates of the National Museum of Ireland, Turlough. If you would like to help with planning, please contact Fiona Kelly, Hilary McInerney, or the Rector. Thank-you.
Regular Service Pattern
- Turlough Parish Church: Saturdays weekly at 7pm. Holy Communion on 2nd and 4th of month; Evening Prayer on 1st and 3rd Sundays.
- Christ Church Castlebar: Sundays weekly at 10am. Holy Communion on 1st and 3rd of month; Morning Prayer, 2nd and 4th, followed by tea.
- Holy Trinity Westport: Sundays weekly, currently in St Mary's Church, South Mall, at 12 noon, followed by tea/coffee in Carrowbeg House.
- St Thomas's Dugort, Achill: Sundays weekly (April to Sept incl.) at 3pm
- Open Church Weekly Drop-in, Christ Church Castlebar, Fridays 11am -1pm.
- Midweek Holy Communion, Wednesdays at 10.30am in St Mary’s Church, Westport, followed by coffee in Clew Bay Hotel (from 11.05 am).
- Online Prayer and Bible Study, Weds at 8pm.
Please note that during August there will be no Midweek Holy Communion services and no Online Prayer meetings.
Pastoral care and enquiries:
Revd Suzanne Cousins, 083 800 3233
Email aughaval@tuam.anglican.org
Website aughaval.tlk.ie
Emergency pastoral care, 25 July - 15 Aug: Canon Andrea Wills. Number on request.
Please see also Aughaval Parishes Facebook page.
