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Tuesday 21 February 2023
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I hope to see many of you this evening for pancakes! We will provide savoury and sweet toppings and we will also have gluten free pancakes available. Everyone is welcome, from 6pm.
Ash Wednesday, 22nd February
Our Eucharist will be tomorrow evening, 6.30pm.
Please come and join us as we mark the beginning of Lent. The service includes time for self-examination and repentance, renewed commitment to prayer and spiritual disciplines, and the traditional ashing for those who would like to receive it.
I hope we will all think and pray about how we can use Lent positively. Can we make more time for prayer and reflection on Scripture and also think about how we live? Below are a few suggestions of what you might like to do.
LENT ACTIVITIES:
Lent Course
For this year's Lent course, I will be offering four sessions on Praying with the English Mystics. These 14th century writers have a single-minded desire for God and their writings can inspire us to deepen our prayer and spiritual life and grow in our longing for God. The sessions will be on Wednesday evenings, 7-8.15pm, by zoom. The first session will be Wednesday 8th March.
Meditating on Scripture: Lectio Divina
We meet on iThursday mornings, 10.30-11.15am (via zoom) to ponder a short passage of scripture in silence and then to share our reflections. It is a way of allowing Scripture to speak deeply into our hearts and lives. If you have never tried this, why not try it out this Lent? iFirst meeting will be iThursday, 9th March
NB If anyone would like to meet for lectio on an evening, please let me know. If there are several people I will try to lead an evening group, in addition to the morning one.
Can we think about how our lifestyle contributes to the environmental crisis and the effects of climate change? Here are some ideas to help us live more simply during Lent. One of the suggestions is to eat vegetarian food. If you have any good vegetarian recipes, please send them to the office and we will compile a St Ursula's vegetarian cookbook.
Night Prayer (Compline)
During Passiontide, we invite you to join us for the short reflective service of Night Prayer, on zoom, every evening at 9pm. This will begin on Saturday 25th March
Prayers for Ukraine
On 24th February, it will be a year since Russia invaded Ukraine. The Swiss Council of Churches is organising ecumenical services of prayer throughout the country. There will be a service 4pm, THIS FRIDAY, 24th February, at the Munster. Everyone is welcome.
This Sunday, 26th February
This coming Sunday, I will be away. Elizabeth Bussmann will come to take the service. Please make her welcome.
Below is a poem reflecting on the temptations of Jesus and the devil's promise that Jesus could have all the kingdoms of the world, if only he worshipped him. The poem prompts us to ask: what is most important to us and who or what we most value?
All the Kingdoms of the World
So here's the deal and this is what you get:
The penthouse suite with world-commanding views,
The banker's bonus and the private jet,
Control and ownership of all the news,
An 'in' to that exclusive one per cent,
Who know the score, who really run the show,
With interest on every penny lent
And sweeteners for cronies in the know.
A straight arrangement between me and you,
No hell below or heaven high above,
You just admit it, and give me my due,
And wake up from this foolish dream of love...
But Jesus laughed, 'You are not what you seem.
Love is the waking life, you are the dream.'
(Malcolm Guite)
With love in Christ,
Helen
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