Welcome to the Parish of Modbury and Golden Grove

 

Lent begins not with ashes, but with a question.

 

In the opening chapters of Genesis, the serpent does not tempt humanity with rebellion or excess. He tempts with doubt. “Did God say…?” It is a subtle shift — not a denial of God, but a distortion of God’s character. The question plants suspicion: perhaps God is withholding something; perhaps trust is costly; perhaps flourishing lies just beyond obedience. That ancient whisper still echoes. It surfaces in quiet comparisons, restless ambition, and the belief that security must be seized rather than received.

 

The first temptation is not about fruit, but about trust.  Genesis shows us what happens when trust fractures. The man and woman do not become free or enlightened; they become anxious and ashamed. Sin appears not simply as rule- breaking, but as relational rupture — a turning inward that spreads and deepens, as Paul reflects in Romans. Yet Paul refuses despair. Where distortion reigns, grace overflows. The story does not end in exile.  Matthew’s Gospel then takes us to another place of testing — not a garden of abundance, but a wilderness of hunger. There, Jesus faces the same ancient question: “If you are the Son of God…” Each temptation offers a shortcut, an invitation to secure himself apart from trust. And each time, Jesus refuses the lie. Rooted in God’s word and secure in his identity, he stands where humanity once fell.

 

This is where Lent begins: not with heroic resolve, but with honest attention. The wilderness reveals what we rely on. Fasting, prayer, and simplicity are not performances; they are practices of noticing. Lent gently asks: what do we believe will save us?

 

The good news is this: before we repent, we are beloved. Before we struggle, Christ hasalready walked the wilderness. And even here, grace a bounds.

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Usual weekly services and activities:

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Sunday:        Holy Communion 8.00 am

                       Holy Communion 10am

Monday:       Bible Study 10.00 am 

Tuesday:       Holy Communion 8.30 am

                        Community Garden 9.30 am

                        Christian meditation 9;30-10am alternate Tuesday from

                        21 Jan 2025

Wednesday: Bible Study 10.00 am

                        Fortnightly Foodbank   10.00 am

Thursday:      Holy Communion 10.00 am

Friday:            Community Garden 9.30 am

                        

 

1st Tuesday of the month Community Garden BBQ 11.30 am

1st and 3rd Sunday of the month Bari Service 11.30 am

2nd Thursday of the month Men's Group 7.30 pm

1st Friday of the month "Come as You Are" - Women's Fellowship 10-12 ​

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