Monday 23 March 2020

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thank you for all the positive messages about the Mothering Sunday service material on the website. It was wonderful to know that we could worship 'together' even while we are physcially apart. I want to say a huge thank you to Hector for organising the website and getting all the material together there. I certainly couldn't manage without his help! Thanks also to Art for organising the YouTube hymns and Maxine for her intercessions, and for Sue putting prayers and other resources on Facebook. It's good that we can still work together with others even at a distance!

I am getting in touch today mainly to send you a thought for the week from Archana. Thank you, Archana, for sharing your reflections; I know they will be an encouragement to many.

Thank you, too, to those in the pastoral care team who are ringing people up. I hope we can all take part in doing this as much as we can.

I am also thankful to John Hutchinson who has put together information for parents at St Ursula's on the Junior Church material we use in our classes in case they want to use this at home with their children. We have already sent this out to families in the church to use, but if anyone else would like to receive it to pass on to family members or others, please do let me know.

This evening we have our Lent discussion session on Psalm 88. It is the third session of our Lent course. I have a small group who are going to meet over zoom, at 7.30pm. If anyone else would like to join us, please let me know as soon as possible and I will send you the information on how you can join the group. I am asking that everyone who takes part reads the Psalm, my talk, and questions for reflection (all on the website) beforehand, then we can share our thoughts together during the zoom session.

I will be in touch again soon with further prayers and reflections. In the meantime, let us continue to pray for one another. Can we please especially pray for Yojena, beloved member of our congregation, who is working on the front line as a doctor in hospital and facing very challenging conditions. Please pray that she will be kept strong in body, mind and spirit.

I pray that you will be 'strenghened in your inner being with power through His Spirit, and that Christ will dwell in your hearts through faith as you are being rooted and grounded in love....' (Ephesians 3 v16-17)

With love in Christ,

Helen