Wednesday 24 January 2024

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

If you are planning on coming to church this Sunday, please note that there will be NO SERVICE at St Ursula's. This is because it is the week of prayer for Christian unity and there will be an ecumenical service, at 10am, at the Munster. I will be presiding at the communion, and Revd Thomas Mauchle (Roman Catholic priest at Dreifaltigkeitkirche) will be preaching. Please do come along.

House Groups
It was good to see so many of you at the Open Forum last Sunday when I outlined the proposal for house groups. For those who were unable to attend the meeting, but are interested to know more, I am attaching a copy of the handout I gave out and also the questionnaire. Please fill this in and send it to the church office by 4th February if possible.

Lectio Divina
There will be NO meeting tomorrow as I have a training day all day.

Bible Study on Genesis
On Saturday, 2nd March, Clare Amos will be leading a Bible study on the book of Genesis at Holy Trinity, Geneva. Clare is a biblical scholar and those of you who have heard her before know she is well worth listening to! She says 'I will be focusing on the book of Genesis - partly because it is a part of the Bible I know well and partly because it seems relevant to the current situation in the Middle East.'
Clare has also written a commentary on the book of Genesis.

More details about the study are attached. Everyone from any of the Swiss Anglican Chaplaincies is welcome, but please do let Clare know if you would like to attend as she wants to know numbers.

Administrator Needed at All Saints, Vevey
The Anglican Chaplaincy in Vevey are looking for a new Administrator. This could be an excellent job for the right person. More details are below:

"All Saints is an Anglican chaplaincy in Vevey, Switzerland. We are looking for a gifted, friendly and efficient administrator. It is a part time role (40%) or 4 half days with some home working and occasional evenings. You can find out more on our website allsaints.ch/jobs."

Church Clean Up Day
Every year we try to do a good tidy up and clean up of the church, the halls, the basement and the attics.
Please could and join us 9:00 - 13:00, Saturday, 10th February. This should be fun if it is a team effort! Snacks will be provided.

Transformation
Last Sunday, Archana preached an excellent sermon on Jesus turning water into wine at the wedding at Cana, speaking of the wonderful transformation Jesus can bring in our lives. We will finally know the full joy of that transformation at the wedding banquet in heaven.

Malcolm Guite ponders the miracle at Cana in his poem below, drawing out the riches of the transformation Jesus offers us, and its cost.

The Miracle at Cana
Here's an epiphany to have and hold,
A truth that you can taste upon the tongue,
No distant shrines and canopies of gold
Or ladders to be clambered rung by rung,
But here and now, amidst your daily living,
Where you can taste and touch and feel and see,
The spring of love, the fount of all forgiving,
Flows when you need it, rich, abundant, free.
Better than waters of some outer weeping,
That leave you still with all your hidden sin,
Here's a vintage richer for the keeping
That works its transformation from within.
'What price?' you ask me, as we raise the glass,
'It cost our Saviour everything he has.'
(Malcolm Guite)

With love in Christ,
Helen