Thursday 27 August 2020

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

It was a joy last Sunday to celebrate Rachel's baptism together. Many of us were struck by her moving testimony. Please do keep Rachel in your prayers as she continues on the Christian way.

This Sunday's service is now fully booked! We are delighted that more people are coming along to church now, but it does present a logistical problem. We are trying to find ways round this. Thank you to those of you who have answered our church survey which will hopefully help us make wise decisions about the way forward. If you have not yet completed this very short and simple survey, please do so here.

If you are not able to get to church this Sunday, please do listen to the service online. It will be accessible by Saturday evening: Service Resources at St Ursula's Church, Berne Thanks as always to Hector and Martin for their technical skill in putting this together.

Booking for next Sunday's service, 5th September, will open on Monday 31st August, via the booking link: https://www.trybooking.com/BLEMQ or by ringing of emailing the office. Next Sunday will be Creation Sunday and we will be reflecting on God's creation and our call to look after it. There will be a special liturgy for the day and Archana will be preaching.

Creation Day itself is on Tuesday 1st September, and there will be a special ecumenical service at 6pm that day at the Dreifaltigkeitskirche (Holy Trinity Church) in Berne. Everyone is welcome. I will be giving a very short message as part of the service and would love to see some of you there! The service will be followed by an Apero.

As we prepare to enter Creation Season, let us rejoice in the wonderful world God has made and reflect on how we can better look after it.

Prayers

May the heavens and the earth
praise Him, the Glorious, and every
creature which is in heaven and
on earth and under the earth and
the seas and all that are in them.
  Let us praise and exalt Him
above all forever,
through Jesus Christ, the Lord.
Amen.
(Francis of Assisi)

Almighty God,
you have created the heavens and the earth
and made us in your own image:
teach us to discern your hand
  in all your works
and your likeness in all your children;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who with you and the Holy Spirit
  reigns supreme over all things,
now and forever.
Amen.

God our Father,
you never cease the work you have begun
and call us to share in your good purposes:
make us wise and faithful stewards of your gifts
that we may serve the common good,
maintain the fabric of our world
and seek that justice where all may share
  the good things you pour upon us;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen

With my love in Christ,
Helen