Dearest friends,
This week we collected your palm crosses and burnt them to make the ash for Ash Wednesday (thank you Mark!)
There are never quite as many collected back as there are given out. We are reticent to give up those beautiful palm crosses that we took home from church last Palm Sunday.
They adorn our halls, our studies, our offices, our bedrooms, and we become used to their reassuring presence. Each time we walk past them we feel safe and soothed.
This is a wonderful and good thing.
But, they are transitory. They are given to us so that we may return them. We must pick up our crosses and bring them to church so that they may be burnt and may act as a sign of our sin.
They must be burnt so that we can start Lent with our focus on the cross of our our own sins. It is uncomfortable. We don’t want to remove them from our homes. They are OURS.
Sin is much the same. It is hard to put down, it is hard to put away, it is OURS and if we’re not careful we start to hold onto sin in much the same way as we hold onto our palm crosses. But sin must be put down, it must be put away.
Don’t keep it at home, bring it to church. Lay it down at the altar, lay it down in confession, lay it down in prayer, that it may be taken from you, that you may be forgiven, that you may know the full and awesome mercy and love of OUR God.
Fr. Matthew
Notices
Torfaen Male Voice Choir
This Saturday! Don’t miss your chance to hear the amazing Torfaen Male Voice Choir at St. Luke’s, 7pm, this Saturday (8th March) A wonderful celebration of music and Welsh hwyl. Tickets £5 on the door in aid of the Vicar’s Discretionary Fund.
Messy Easter & Explorers
Messy Easter will be held at St. Catherine’s on the 23rd March, 3pm-5pm. We are in need of volunteers to help us run it. Sitting with the children doing crafts, serving food, setting up and putting away. If you’re interested please be in touch.
Explorers is a small seed that is going to grow into a new church to be planted into St. Catherine’s School in September. I’m looking for volunteers to help with children’s crafts, serving coffee & tea (and almost certainly donuts!) and welcoming people into church.
The Bible Course
Thursday evenings, 7pm, WH
On Thursday evening we will be joined by +Mike (Exeter) who will be sharing with us his thoughts and teachings on Acts and the early church in scripture.
Even if you’ve never been to the Bible Course so far, come along to this session to understand why we’re so passionate about planting new churches.
Summer Term Planning
As in previous terms we’ll meet together as two churches and plan the term ahead. The Summer Term will be based out of St. Luke’s and our planning meeting will happen there on the 30th April at 6:30pm. We’ll do a short review of the Easter term and then plan for the term ahead.
Summer Lectures
Over the summer term I don’t plan to run what you may call a traditional ‘course’. Instead I’m going to offer a series of Sunday afternoon lectures, perhaps once a fortnight. These lectures will range from ‘What is the Christian perspective on Assisted Dying’, to ‘Why was Devon so central to the Anglo-Catholic movement in England’. If you have a topic you’d like me to talk on, or invite someone to talk on, please do be in touch.
Table Top Sale, 15th March
The Table Top Sale at Wickham Hall will now take place inside St. John’s Church due to a double booking.
Sunday 9th March
1st Sunday of Lent
9:15am – Sung Mass, St. John’s
11am – Sung Mass, St. Luke’s
1pm – St. Luke’s Parish Lunch
Divine Office Psalter Week 1, C(I), Lent 1
March
- 6th – The Bible Course, 7pm, WH
- 8th – Torfaen Male Voice Choir Concert 7pm [SL]
- 9th – St. Luke’s Parish Lunch
- 12th – St. Luke’s PCC, 7pm
- 13th – The Bible Course with +Mike, 7pm WH
- 15th, 22nd, 29th – Stations of the Cross [4pm SL, 6pm SJ]
- 15th – Rosary Group, 10:30am [SL]
- 16th – St. John’s APCM 3pm
- Music & Meditation 4pm [SJ]
- 23rd – St. Luke’s APCM after Mass
- Messy Easter at St. Catherine’s, 3-5pm
- 30th – Mothering Sunday
April
- 2nd – St. Luke’s PCC, 7pm
- 10th – Oswestry Chrism Festival (Exeter Cathedral, 11am)
13th April – Palm Sunday
- 9am – Sung Mass & Procession [SJ]
- 11am – Sung Mass & Procession [SL]
17th April – Maundy Thursday
- 7pm – Joint Mass with Washing of Feet & Watch, [SJ]
(Watch to continue at SL from 8:30pm)
18th April – Good Friday
- 3pm – Mass of The Lord’s Passion [SJ & SL]
19th April – Holy Saturday
- 8pm- Vigil Mass of Easter [SJ]
20th April – Easter Sunday
- 6am – Dawn Mass [SL]
- 9:15am – Mass of Easter Sunday [SJ]
- 11am – Mass of Easter Sunday [SL]
St. John’s Table Top Sale – Every 3rd Saturday at Wickham Hall