Wednesday 9 June 2021

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope to see many of you this Sunday. The church is pretty full, but if you would like to come, please do let the office know by 11am on Thursday morning. After that, you can contact me on 077 495 7419.
We will keep a waiting list if there are too many people. If you book a seat and then are unable to come please let me know, so I can offer the seat to someone else.

As usual, you can also follow the service online. We are all very thankful to Hector, Martin and Art for making this possible

Everyday Faith
During our Sunday services, we have been listening to members of the congregation talk about their faith and daily life. This Sunday, the Patton family will tell us briefly about their upcoming move to Panama and we will pray for them.

There will be NO online Men's Group or Coffee Time on Sunday mornings until further notice, as most people involved are now coming to church.

Lectio
Lectio Divina continues on Thursdays, 10.30-11.15am, as we meet (via zoom) to meditate in silence on a short biblical passage and then share our reflections. Come and join us! Let me know if you would like more details.

Bible Study
Our next meeting will be 7-8.15pm (via zoom) on Tuesday 22nd June.

Sharing Lifts
As part of our concern for the environment, the Eco group of the church would like to encourage us all to think about sharing lifts to church services and events when possible. If you are interested in having a lift to church, or could offer others a lift, please let Maria in the office know. I will also put up some signing sheets in church on Sunday. We will then see if there are people who live near to each other who could share lifts.

Online Summer Fête: THANK YOU
I want to say a HUGE thank you to all those involved in orgainsing and running the online summer fête and book stall last Saturday, and to all those who cooked, baked and knitted such good things to sell! I know that the team worked very hard to make it so successful. It was also good to see a small number of people gathered in the hall for coffee and cake. We hope that for the next sale in Autumn we will be able to offer more in person activities.

Next week, I will be away on a retreat and I will be praying for you all.

I leave you with some words of Evelyn Underhill (1874-1941) who wrote several books on prayer and the spiritual life. She also encouraged many through her spiritual direction and retreats.

Growth
All gardeners know the importance of good root development before we force the leaves and flowers. So our life in God should be deeply rooted and grounded before we presume to expect to prodcue flowers or fruits; otherwise we risk shooting up into one of those lanky plants which never do without a stick.

We are constantly beset by the notion that we ought to perceive ourselves springing up quickly, like the seed on stony ground; showing sriking signs of spiritual growth.

But perhaps we are only required to go on quietly, making root, growing nice and busy, docile to the great slow rhythm of life. When we see no startling marks of our own religious progress or our usefulness to God, it is well to remember the baby in the stable and the little boy on the streets of Nazareth. The childish prayer of Nazareth was the right preparation for the awful prayer of the cross.

So it is that the life of the Spirit is to unfold gently and steadily within us; till at last the full stature for which God designed us, is attained.

With love in Christ,
Helen