Support from foodbanks is vital to many at this time please consider making a donation when you next visit the supermarket.

B30 Foodbank (Update 28^th August 2022)

rice (500g), laundry liquid/powder (not family sized), bar soap, tinned /packet vegetarian meals.

Urgently Required
Tinned tomatoes, pasta sauce, cereal (not greater than 500g), tinned fish (tuna, mackerel, sardines, salmon), tinned fruit in juice (not prunes or grapefruit); sweet biscuits (not multi-packs), rice (500g), tinned/packet soup, jam/honey, long-life fruit juice (not needing refrigeration), liquid/bar soap, toothpaste, strong carrier bags, nappies sizes 4, 5 &6.

Low in stock

Well stocked
Pasta shapes, dry spaghetti, tinned potatoes, crisps, baked beans, tinned vegetables, noodles, instant potato, nappies size 1-3, baby food and baby care items, gender neutral roll-on deodorants, sanitary pads, baby wipes, washing-up liquid.

Not needed at all

Decaffeinated drinks or fruit infusions, bottled water, large bottles of lemonade or coke, any food or toiletries containing alcohol, cooking ingredient or sauces, tinned macaroni cheese, fresh products (including vegetable, meat, eggs and bread), non-dairy items, gluten-free items, coffee beans, loose tea, large boxes of teabags (120’s or more), very large bags or boxes of porridge and cereal, cocoa power, tampons, make up hair accessories, perfume or aftershave,

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Reflection on Mark 3

Jesus faced opposition from his family. Their view that he is 'out of his mind' (verse 21), seems to be linked to the accusation by the scribes that he was 'possessed by Beelzebul', (verse 22), and provokes a very sharp response: if you blaspheme against the Holy Spirit – by deliberately calling what God is doing evil – you cannot be forgiven. This can't mean, of course, that these scribes – or Jesus' family – could not be forgiven, since many people who were originally hostile changed their minds about him and became his disciples. But continuing to believe that good is evil inevitably puts us outside the will of God.

Jesus' conflict with his family must have been painful. But we can learn two things from what he says. First, we might need to go against what our families and our communities believe and value if we're to be faithful to Jesus. In some cultures this is much harder than it is in the West, and we should be aware of this. But 'Jesus is Lord' is an absolute commitment wherever we are.

Second, when Jesus says that 'whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother' (verse 35) he is not excluding his family but extending it. As his ministry will show, he brings in the outcast and the excluded, drawing the boundaries wider and wider. Even today, when we're so preoccupied by questions around nationhood and different kinds of identity, this is a revolutionary.