Wednesday 21 June 2023

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope to see many of you at church on Sunday. Junior Church and Creche will be running as usual.

Church Photo
We are hoping to take a new photo of the church family immediately after the service on 2nd July. Everyone who would like to be included in the photo will need to fill in a photo permission form (adults as well as children). If you are happy to have your photo taken in church and have not filled in the form, please do so as soon as possible. There are forms in the porch of the church and in the church hall.

Update from James Morgan
After coffee on 2nd July, James will be giving a brief update about his training for ordained ministry. He will also give out a short written summary of how things are going with requests for prayer. There will be an opportunity to ask questions. Please do come and support James and pray for him and Lilian.

Holy Land Institute for the Deaf
On Friday 7th July, 7pm, Father Jamil Khadir will be giving a talk in the Church Hall about the work of this charity, Holy Land Institute for the Deaf (HLID), which is based in Salt, in Jordan. The Institute provides education and support for deaf children. A number of the pupils are both deaf and blind. The HLID is one of the charities we support at St Ursula's. Please do come along on Friday 7th July and find out more.

Children's Activity Day, 'Creation Fun' 26th August
On Saturday, 26th August, we will be running a children's activity day on the theme of creation. This is organised jointly by St Ursula's and the Anglican Chaplaincy in Zurich. It will be held here at St Ursula's, 10.30am - 3pm. We welcome children aged 3-16. Children under 6 will need to have a parent with them.
There are leaflets and registration forms in church, or you can ask for one from the office.
If you would like your child to attend, please complete the form and send it to the office by Sunday 2nd July.

It is easy for all of us to build up a false image of ourselves and present that to others. But God wants to relate to the real me and the real you, which includes the parts of ourselves we like to hide. I was very struck by these words recently:

'God's word is addressed to us as we really are, not as we like to present ourselves; he speaks to our heart, not to our mask... So we should allow the Bible to bring us into the light, the light of God's truth. God is not taken in by our polite little speeches. He knows us through and through, far better than we know ourselves. He hears what we are really saying, he listens to our heart. And if we would learn to keep company with him, we must become the kind of people who are prepared to be heard and addressed at that deep level, which requires a great deal of honesty and humility.'
(Simon Tugwell)

With love in Christ,
Helen