Wednesday 18 January 2023

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope to see you this coming Sunday, 22nd January, at the ecumenical service at the Münster, 10am. It will be a Eucharist in the Lutheran tradition.
NB, there will be NO service at St Ursula's this Sunday. Services will be back as usual in St Ursula's from 29th January.

Candlemas
We will hold a special Eucharist on Thursday 2nd February, 7pm, to mark Candlemas. This is when we remember the baby Jesus being presented in the temple by his parents and the prophecies of Simeon and Anna about this child. Simeon calls the child 'a light for revelation to the Gentiles', and so it is traditional to celebrate Christ's light by filling the church with candles that day. (Hence it is called Candlemas).
Do come along and join us for this service of light. There will also be food and drink after the service (either in Church House or in the Upper Hall, depending on numbers). If you are able to bring a dish that would be great. Please let me or the office know if you plan to come and if you can bring some food.

Electoral Roll
We would like to encourage those who are new to St Ursula's to join our electoral roll. This is a very easy process: you need to complete a simple form. When you are on our electoral roll you will be listed as a regular worshipping member of our community and you will be able to vote in elections for council members and churchwardens at our AGM (which will be held in March). There are electoral roll forms available in church.

Survey
We would like to know how many people use our church website, and which parts of it, and whether people read our magazine and my weekly newsletters. Here is a link to a very simple survey. We would be very grateful if you could fill in this survey by 30th January if possible. It will help us to know how we can improve our church website, magazine and other forms of communication.

We also have some printed copies available at church for those who prefer not to do it online. Thank you very much for your support.

Epiphany Prayer
One of my favourite collects of the church year is the one below for the second Sunday of Epiphany. It celebrates that Christ makes all things new and can transform us by his grace. We might sometimes feel and look pretty weak, poor and shabby in ourselves, but we are on a journey and Christ's light will be increasingly shown through us.

Almighty God,
in Christ you make all things new
transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace,
and in the renewal of our lives,
make known your heavenly glory;
through Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord.
Amen.

With love in Christ,
Helen