Wednesday 19 April 2023

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It was such a joy to celebrate the joy of the Risen Lord with so many people on Easter Sunday. We had the happy problem of not enough seats! With 120 adults and 20 children it was the most people I've ever seen at St Ursula's on a Sunday morning. As we continue to celebrate the joy of the resurrection through this Easter season, I hope you will join us again.

Sunday 23rd April
This coming Sunday, James Morgan will be preaching. Please do come and support him and continue to keep him and Lilian in your prayers as James continues in his ordination training.

Coronation of Charles III
As many of you are aware, the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III will take place on Saturday 6th May. The time of the service has not yet been announced, but we will let you know the time as soon as we know. We will be livestreaming the service in the upper hall, and will be providing sandwiches, scones and cakes. Do come along and bring any family, friends or neighbours who are interested. If any of you are able to help with making sandwiches and cakes please do let the office know.

King Charles is Governor of the Church of England (of which St Ursula's is a part), and we will be saying some special prayers for the King during the service on Sunday 7th May. These will be led by the British Ambassador, James Squire. It has been a great joy to have James, Kate and their family worshipping with us at St Ursula's in recent weeks.

Some Good News
Many of you will remember Victor and Stephanie who fled Kyiv at the beginning of the war in Ukraine and lived here in Bern for some months. Martin Browne warmly and generously welcomed them to live with him in his home and they also came along to worship with us at St Ursula's. We missed them when they moved to the Netherlands. Victor had been a surgeon in Ukraine and was hoping to find work. Martin received the good news yesterday that he has now got a job in a hospital in Amsterdam. Please pray for him, and for Stephanie.

Pentecost, 28th May
Looking ahead, please do put this date in your diaries. This is a very special day in the life of the church, when we celebrate the coming of the Spirit on the first disciples and the preaching of the gospel to people of different nations and languages. It is a good day to celebrate the international nature of our church community and to remember that we are all one in Christ.
There will be two special events taking place on this Sunday:

• Time and Talents Auction: We are one in the Spirit but we are all different, with different gifts. As we celebrate this, we are invited to offer our time and talents to raise money for the church. Please fill in a form with what you can offer (eg an hour's language lesson, an hour's gardening, cooking a meal, etc.) and put it in the red box in the upper hall. After Church on 28th May, we will hold the auction and invite bids for the different services offered.
• International Lunch: As we have done so successfully in previous years, we invite you to bring some food from your own nation or local area to share. If you have a national dress, we encourage you to wear it. This has been a very colourful and joyful occasion in the past, so don't miss it!

Words of Inspiration for Eastertime (and all times!)

'Increase every day your grace in me until you have brought me to the full awareness of your Son, Jesus Christ our Saviour, who is the true sun of our lives...'
(Jean Calvin)

With love in Christ,
Helen