Checkendon Church and Churchyard Spring Working Party Saturday 22nd April Dear friends Please help us to keep our church and its environment looking lovely! On Saturday morning, from 10-12noon, members of Checkendon church council invite you to join them in church and/or churchyard for the annual clean up. Please bring any tools that you think you might need. The invitation is open…
Come to the feast Dear friends, There is a huge table of worship for you to enjoy in the coming days; prayerful, colourful, crafty, interactive, tasty, musical, thoughtful, sacramental, liturgical, multi-sensory, dynamic, simple. So, I invite you all, come, and celebrate the great feast of Easter at your local church. Everyone is welcome. Holy Week Mon 3rd, Tues 4th, Wed 5th April,…
Your Holy Week and Easter Dear friends, There’s no easy way to do this, but I have to write a list. The staff team and I are looking forward to sharing a joyful and festive Easter with you as we celebrate the resurrection of our living Lord. May the hope that Christ gives be yours, and his glory rise in your hearts.…
Here comes the sun! Dear friends, A little optimistic, perhaps, but nevertheless true. The passing of the vernal equinox means that from now on the northern part of planet earth will be tilting more and more into the sun’s rays. Things will get brighter, and warmer! There are certainly bright things to rejoice in across the Team ministry right now, irrespective of…
Mothering Sunday Dear friends, This Sunday we honour our mothers, and our worship lifts us out of Lenten austerity, for one Sunday at least. Simnel cake, floral posies, music and thanksgiving. There is much to be thankful for, not least the signs of spring in gardens determined to vanquish the cold of winter. And irrespective whether you are one of those being…
Letters and Orders Dear friends, You may not know it, but the above term is church-speak for the papers that a cleric carries to signify that they (a) are genuinely ordained and (b) have the authority of the relevent bishop to minister in a particular place. So, as well as my ordination documents I also have what is known as a “licence”…
Lent Courses Dear friends As February draws to a close and the season of Lent gets under way, may I draw your attention to the Lent study groups that are on offer this year? Both are open to anyone from across the Team. On Tuesday afternoons at 1.30pm you have a chance to meet God “In the Wilderness” with Revd Romey Poston.…
The perfect pancake Dear friends, How do you like yours? Lemon and sugar? Syrup? Chocolate sauce? Fruit compote? Thick, like a waffle, or thin, like a crepe? We like to jazz them up a little, but the pancake on Shrove Tuesday harks back to leaner times, when it was actually possible to clear the larder ahead of the penitential season of fasting.…
Mercy, mercy Dear friends, Once again the creation reminds us that we are not above it, but that we belong to it. At high enough pressure, rock becomes fluid, and behaves in a way similar to the ocean – it ripples and waves. The forces involved are unthinkably large, but perhaps can be imagined by asking what would happen on the motorway…
Joys Dear friends, I always rejoice to see the back of January. Snowdrops are already peeping out, reminding us of better times. Evenings are slowly getting lighter and one knows that February always passes in a flash. Then, March will bring spring. Old friends reappear like flowers, new friends greet one in the lanes and on the footpaths. Life comes again after…