Detail from “The Dancer’s Reward” by Aubrey Beardsley
7th Sunday after Trinity
Bible readings: Ephesians 1.3-14 & Mark 6.14-29
Our gospel reading this week concerns the famous story of Herod Antipas’s stepdaughter, whom we’ve come to know as Salome, the daughter of Herodias. This gruesome yet fascinating tale has inspired music, art and literature throughout the centuries, notably in Oscar Wilde’s play (and Aubrey Beardsley’s iconic illustration which accompanied its first English edition) and Richard Strauss’s opera (which used Wilde’s play as its basis). The story, so specific in its content – a dancing girl is urged by her mother to ask for the head of an imprisoned prophet on a plate after a King offers her whatever she wants – is hardly an everyday tale. But if we pull out the themes of the reading, it starts to look more familiar and relatable. What we have here is someone who has spoken an inconvenient truth to power (John the Baptist) and been punished for it, as we sadly see happens again and again, from the sacking or bullying of whistleblowers who call out bad practice or corruption, to the more subtle ‘shutting down’ of ‘difficult’ voices by people who feel challenged by them. We also see someone who boasts of his own power finding himself undone by his boasts (Herod), a situation we witness in both the public and private sphere, when people are afraid to change course and admit, in humility, that they’ve made a mistake. Herod could have changed course and refused Salome’s request, but he was more concerned with the reputational damage an about-turn would have caused him and he didn’t want to lose face. And then we have someone who uses her influence (Herodias) to manipulate someone (Salome) for her own ends. People with influence and power sometimes manipulate those around them; we can probably all think of examples of having seen this, or even been guilty of it ourselves. And finally, we have a person, eager to please, who simply disregards the consequences of her own actions (Salome). How often might we do what we suspect isn’t right, sometimes for understandable reasons (such as fear or insecurity), or for want of an ‘easier life’, particularly if we feel cajoled or pressured by someone else? When we hear the reading today, perhaps we can listen for the similarities, rather than the differences, to our own context and ponder them as we start our week. – Josie
Weekly newsletter/blog and website
Please send all information for the Sunday newsletter/blog by Wednesday evening to Josie at penleeclusternewsletter@gmail.com and communications@penleecluster.org.uk. If you would like to write the biblical reflection for the newsletter on any particular week, please contact me for details of upcoming Sunday readings. – Josie
Festival of the Sea – Minack Theatre
To celebrate 200 years of the RNLI, the Minack is staging its first ever 2 week festival of events – on the theme of the sea and all things oceanic, from 1st to 15th September.
Ryan Collis Piano Recital
We were delighted to welcome Ryan Collis (recent winner in his category for the Young Composers Award) to St. Mary’s on Friday 28th June for a piano recital. He performed pieces from Chopin, Brahms and one of his own compositions in the first half of the programme and Fugues No.2 & 8 by Bach and two more of his own compositions in the second. Ryan’s playing was exquisite and with an audience of just over thirty people, we were treated to an intimate, expressive performance from a truly gifted musician. The audience were so taken with his last piece that we requested he play it again, as an encore (which he did)! We are very grateful to Ryan and are pleased to report that the recital raised £106 for NightChurch. – Josie
Golowan Gala Concert
On Sunday 23rd June St. Mary’s Church hosted a Golowan Gala Concert – Mozart Fest! The Golowan Festival Orchestra conducted by Tim Boulton gave an uplifting and inspiring programme, exploring different facets of this much loved composer. Opening with the overture to The Marriage of Figaro, the 35 piece orchestra filled the building with a sound that might have been produced by a much bigger ensemble. The orchestra were joined by soprano Caroline Childe for a set or arias from Figaro and Cosi van tutti, and by clarinettist Jacob Perry for the sublime Adagio and sparkling Rondo from Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto. Following the interval, Tim conducted the strings in a sparking performance of the F major Divertimento, before young Polish violinist Ola Lenkiewicz joined the orchestra for an outstandingly well-crafted and compelling performance of the D major Violin Concerto. It was a treat to hear such committed playing by an orchestra largely made up of local musicians, with three excellent soloists. Tim Boulton commented ‘It was a great pleasure to be making music in St. Mary’s again – it’s the one place in Penzance where many musicians feel most at home and the sound here is wonderful. I look forward to being back here again before Christmas.‘
Penlee Cluster Kids Summer Holiday Club 2024
for children 6 – 11 years
We are really looking forward to the summer holidays and once again, have some exciting adventures planned. Come along to try out lots of exhilarating activities and make new friendships. For those families in receipt of free school meals, it is essential that you book your place on the Time2Move website: https://playwaze.com/penlee-cluster-holiday-club/sgzt6a79okz5/home-communitydashboard
This is needed so we can access funding for your child. We also have five heavily subsidised places at £5.00 per day. This covers transport, lunch, trips and activities. But please note you must await confirmation of your child’s/children’s space before making any payments. Please find below a list of each themed week and if you wish to participate then please let me know and I will send over an application form. (Email address molly.blewett@penleecluster.org.uk)
Week 1: Wild About Where We Live – 30th July – 2nd August
Week 2: Wild About Adventure: 5th August – 8th August
Week 3: Wild About Talent: 12th August – 15th August
Week 4: Wild About Exploring: 19th August – 22nd August
9.00am Drop-off: Sea Life Soft Play
3.00pm Collection: Sea Life Soft Play
(Times will adjust on trip days – details to follow) – Molly
NightChurch Volunteers
We are still looking for people who can volunteer every Wednesday (except for holidays of course) from 6pm-8pm. We would also like some regular volunteers to join our Saturday team. Duties include eating cake, drinking tea/coffee, spending time with our brothers and sisters on the fringe, and doing jigsaws or art activities. We are looking for someone who really has a heart for spending time with those on the fringes of society, who are often shunned by others. Full training will be given. Please email me on nightchurchpz@gmail.com if you’re interested. – Alice
St. Pol de Leon Church, Paul
Tours of the church on Wednesdays during July and August, from 11am to 1pm. Come to coffee from 10am and then learn about the history of this lovely church. Visitors and locals welcome.
Save the Date – Saturday 5th October
Free Creation Care Family activities at Sancreed Beacon with Cornwall Heritage on Saturday 5th October. More details to follow! – Jane
Traditional Summer Fete
The Family Workers and NightChurch are working together to put on a traditional summer fete at St Mary’s on 31st August. Time-travel back to when 10p was charged on the door for entry, and games (all costing 10p to play) included ‘guess the weight of the cake’, ‘the name of the teddy bear’ or ‘number of sweets in the jar’, all set to the delightful background hum of a tombola with the customary tins of Spam, custard and floral bubble bath.
If you would like to be involved, either by creating a game, manning a station, whipping up a dozen butterfly cakes, or raiding your cupboard for corned beef, then please speak to Molly or Alice. Money raised will be going to Cancer Research and Georgia’s Voice, charities chosen by Molly’s families. – Alice
Psalm Group – coming this autumn…
The psalms have been called the ‘prayerbook of the church’, an extraordinarily rich resource of texts covering the full range of human emotion and religious experience. They are notable for their depth and honest engagement with struggle, despair and joy. Starting in the autumn, following the Thursday morning communion service at St. Mary’s, you are invited to a group where we’ll take one psalm per week to read and discuss. Some weeks it may be a meditative experience and on others it may be a general discussion: we’ll be led by the group and the psalm itself. Please watch this space for updates on the starting date! – Josie
West Cornwall Drop-in Energy Advice
West Cornwall Community Energy Plus’s specialist outreach energy advisers are on hand with helpful advice on how they can help you save energy and money in your home or how they can help you with the transition to low carbon energy. They will be running drop-in energy advice sessions at the following venues in Penzance in July:
18th July 9.30am – 12.30pm at Penzance Jobcentre (Branwell House, Clarence Street, TR18 2NU)
26th July 11.00am – 1.00pm at The Salvation Army (Queen Street, TR18 4BH)
31st July 10.00am – 2.00pm at The Salvation Army (Queen Street, TR18 4BH)
Celtic Morning Prayer
Each weekday morning on zoom at 8am. The zoom meeting ID is 815 4586 0947. If you would like to attend, please email Keno at admin@penleecluster.org.uk (or call on 01736 331633) for the passcode, which you will need as well as the meeting ID given here.
Julian Meeting
The Julian Meeting will be on zoom this Sunday, at 6pm. Zoom link:
Opening Reflection
Marvel of heavens and fecundity of earth;
Seasons and starlight and seedlings and sound;
Tenderness of touch and kindness of care;
All of these
Testify to the goodness
That wills life,
Inviting creation,
Opening way,
Calling forth the heart’s
Silent wonder
And grateful song. (Psalm 97 redux)
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84734636130?pwd=NkMrMDNjTGpzbnorZEUrYVRJUTBkQT09
Prayer Requests
If you are concerned about someone and would like their name included in the Prayer Request Group’s weekly prayer list, please do email Mel at mlevesconte@hotmail.co.uk by 7pm on Tuesday evenings. Thank you.
THIS WEEK…
Fundraising Concert for NightChurch: Rhys – Saturday 20th July at St. Mary’s PZ
Our friend Rhys, also known as the ‘The NightChurch Mystery Pianist’, will be giving a concert at St. Mary’s on 20th July to raise money for NightChurch. Doors will open at 7.00pm for a 7.30pm start (and we expect the concert to end by 9.30pm).
COMING SOON…
Paul Church Talk: ‘Is the law fit for purpose?’ –
John Gallagher, Tuesday 6th August
It’s hard to sum up John Gallagher’s career. He has practised as a Barrister for nearly 50 years, is a Master of the Bench of Gray’s Inn and since 1994 has been a part time Judge of the Crown and County Court. He is also an accredited Mediator. I’m not sure what all those roles involve, and I’ve left a lot more out, but he’s clearly very well qualified to lead a really interesting debate and discussion on the current state and future role of the Law. £5.00 entry. Nibbles/wine 7pm, talk at 7.30pm, followed by debate and more nibbles/wine.
