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A Change in Name

Dear All Saints and St Mary's


This Sunday we celebrate the feast of St Peter and St Paul, two of the most significant followers of Jesus in the New Testament. Both their stories tell of a growth in faith and a call to ministry. For both of them, that call included a change in name.


Simon, the son of John (or Jonah), was a fisherman working on lake Galilee. Jesus called him to catch people rather than fish. When Simon recognised Jesus as the Christ, Jesus gave him the name Cephas, which means rock in Aramaic. In the Bible, this is sometimes written as the Greek word Petros, from which we get the name Peter. He became the rock, the foundation on which Jesus built the church in Jerusalem. He was also the champion of gentile Christians among the Jewish Christians.


Saul was a highly educated Pharisee, who was eager to serve God. However, Jesus showed him that serving God did not mean rigid following of the law of Moses, but faith in Jesus. He travelled widely, spreading the good news of Jesus through what is now Turkey and Greece. In Luke's telling of his story, he switches from using Saul's Hebrew name to his Greek name Paul, to indicate that he was now looking out into the world beyond Israel.


It is at this time when we think about the ministry of the church today. Not many of us are given a new name, but many of us are called to new and exciting ministries. It is a time to pray about our own calling and whether God is challenging us to take on something new or to continue faithfully in our current work.


It is also the time when the church has traditionally ordained new priests and deacons. From our own community, Kester de Oliveira will be ordained priest this Saturday in Bristol Cathedral. As a community, we will be praying for him and looking for practical ways we can support him in this new phase of his ministry.


This Sunday, although it is a fifth Sunday of the month, we will not be having a benefice service. Instead, there will be services at both All Saints and St Mary's. The benefice service will be on 6th May, when Kester will preside at communion for the first time. As such, there will be the following services this Sunday:

8:00 am

All Saints

Holy Communion (BCP)

10:00 am

St Marys

Holy Communion

10:30 am

All Saints

Holy Communion

This coming week we have the usual services with Celtic Morning Prayer on Wednesday at All Saints and Holy Communion at St Mary's on Thursday. In addition to the Benefice service at All Saints, there will be Choral Evensong at St Mary's. Note that there is no morning service at St Mary's. This gives the following services for the coming week:

Weds 2nd

9:00am

All Saints

Celtic Morning Prayer

Thurs 3rd

10:00am

St Marys

Holy Communion

Sat 5th

3:00pm

Bristol Cathedral

Ordination of Kester de Oliveira

Sunday 6th

10:30am

All Saints

Benefice Communion Service


6:30pm

St Mary's

Choral Evensong

As we remember the ministry of Peter and Paul, let us pray for the ministry of all the church, in the words of the collect for Embertide:


Almighty and everlasting God,

by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church

is governed and sanctified:

hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people,

that in their vocation and ministry

they may serve you in holiness and truth to the glory of your name;

through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,

who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

Amen.


Yours in Christ,

Mark

Mark Simms

Licensed Lay Minister

Benefice of All Saints and St Mary Fishponds


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