Wednesday 9 November 2022

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This coming Sunday, 13th November, is Remembrance Sunday when we remember all those who currently serve, and those who have served, in the armed forces, and all those who have died in violent conflicts, past and present. We also commit ourselves to working for peace. Please do come and join us for this special service. The British Ambassador, Jane Owen, will be with us.

There will also be a ceremony at the Vevey Commonwealth War Graves on Friday 11th November, 10.45am. Everyone is welcome.

Nacht der Religionen, this Saturday, 12th November
Everyone is welcome to join in with the activities and services of the Nacht der Religionen which involves different Christian denominations and other faith communities across Bern. The theme this year is 'Play and Pray.' We will be joining together with the Old Catholics and the Lutherans; I will lead an Anglican service of Compline (Night Prayer) at 21.30 at St Peter and St Paul, Rathausgasse 2.

Before the service there will be various games and quizzes taking place at the church. There are flyers with more details available at church.

Children Preparing to Receive Communion
We are currently running a course for 8 children (over 7 years old) to prepare them to receive communion. They are learning about belonging to God, belonging in the church, prayer, and following Jesus as well as about communion itself. This is NOT a confirmation course; we hope the children will go through a confirmation course and get confirmed at an older age.

Please pray for those children taking part in this course that it will be an important step in their faith and draw them together as a group. The children are: Zornitsa, Nayden, Aydon, Adriele, Lucas, Samuel, Gabriela, and Cem. They will first receive communion at a special service on Sunday 20th November.

As part of the course, the children are encouraged to ask other members of the church to write their name on one of their work sheets and to have a conversation with them. So don't be surprised if some of the children approach you after church on the next few Sundays!

Pumpkin Soup, 20th November
After the service on 20th November there will be a pumpkin soup to raise money for Cecily's Fund. This is one of the charities we support which works with orphans in Zambia. Basil Eastwood will join us for the lunch and give us an update on the work of the charity. Please do come along.

Christmas Bazaar
It is not long now until the Christmas Bazaar, on Friday 25th and Saturday 26th November. The sale site is now open for you to order your Christmas goodies.
We still need help for the Bazaar. We especially need cakes for the cake stall and help clearing up at the end. If you can help in any way, please do let Maria know in the office.

To prepare for the Bazaar we need all the chairs moved out of the church and tables set up. We plan to do this after the service on 20th November. If we have a good number of people helping this will not take long. Thanks for your help!

Prayers
There are many people and situations in our world that need our prayers. We may have in mind the after-effects of the elections in the United States and the need for a positive way forward for that increasingly divided nation; all those facing famine and starvation in Somalia and other parts of East Africa; and the people of Ukraine caught up in ongoing violent conflict.

As we approach Remembrance Sunday, we pray for peace and justice in our world.

Almighty God,
from whom all thoughts of truth and peace proceed;
kindle, we pray, in the hearts of all, the true love of peace
and guide with your pure and peaceable wisdom
those who take counsel for the nations of the earth
that in tranquility your kingdom may go forward,
till the earth is filled with the knowledge of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

With love in Christ,
Helen