Seven Churches in South Oxfordshire

From the Rector: Pentecost Sunday 20th May 2018

Dear friends,

A very warm welcome to this Pentecost Service, where we celebrate God’s gift of the Holy Spirit to the church. The Holy Spirit is the way we know God’s presence with us in our hearts and lives. He is the one in us who enables us to respond in faith and trust in Jesus. He is the divine comforter, bringing assurance and peace to troubled hearts. He is the bringer of unity and wholeness to the church, locally and nationally. He is the Holy Spirit of Jesus, the reconciler between God and humanity, the sacred bridge joining earth to heaven. He is the one who enacts the saving work of Christ in human lives in our time and for all time.

Pentecost Sunday is the most appropriate Sunday to announce that the Langtree team Churches will be holding a CONFIRMATION SERVICE later this year, on 30th September. This is where our Bishop will lay his hands on each candidate, praying that they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. He also prays that we will all be empowered to live as followers of Christ. Confirmation is traditionally the mark of teenage entry into the communicant membership of the church, but it is increasingly being seen as appropriate for adults too. It is a way of marking a significant committment to their local (and the national) church of England parish, and inviting God’s Spirit to bless and fill them in their vocation.

We will be running preparation classes for both adults and teenagers, and so if you wish to join one such, please do get in touch with your local minister as soon as possible. The only precondition for confirmation is that you must already be baptised, but this can often be arranged in the months leading up to the confirmation if required.

In your prayers could I especially ask you to remember those preparing/undertaking exams at any level, and those elderly people who live alone without family or considerate neighbours to care for them.

With thanks and every blessing for this festival day, where we cry “Jesus is Lord!” as the Spirit touches our lives.

Your Rector                                              Revd Canon Kevin Davies

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