Dear All Saints and St Mary’s
The epistle reading set for this Sunday is from Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. It ends with one of the three quotes from Paul’s letters that make up the Easter Anthems.
This canticle, originally set for Easter Day in the 1662 Prayer Book, is now used throughout the Easter season both to celebrate the joy and power of the resurrection and to commit ourselves to follow Christ, die to sin and live in sincerity and truth. In this passage, Paul reminds us that in our baptism we entered into Christ’s death and resurrection and committed ourselves to follow him. Let us pray for the Holy Spirit to give us the strength and guidance to live out that commitment in all we do.
At All Saints at 10.30 this Sunday we will be continuing our look at the book of Jonah in our Café Service. This week we will be looking at Jonah 3.1–4, which tells how God gave Jonah a second chance after he had run away from God. God called Jonah a second time and, this time, Jonah answered God’s call. In a similar way, in Luke 15.11–24, Jesus tells the story of how the prodigal son was given a second chance by his forgiving father, when he was truly sorry and was willing to try again. These stories remind us of how central repentance and forgiveness are to the Christian life and that God is always willing to give us a second chance if we are willing to try again.
Diane is preparing some activities to help our younger members think about some of these topics. There will be the usual discussion questions for adults. All are welcome to come and explore what it means for God to give us a second chance and how we can do the same for our neighbours.
This Sunday, 25th June, we have the usual fourth Sunday pattern of services as follows:
08:00am | Holy Communion | All Saints |
10:00am | Holy Communion | St Mary's |
10:30am | Café Church | All Saints |
During the week we have our usual pattern of services with Celtic Morning Prayer at All Saints at 9.00 am on Wednesday and Holy Communion at St Mary’s at 10.00 am on Thursday.
Next Sunday is a first Sunday, so there is Holy Communion at All Saints and Creative Church at St Mary’s. In Addition, Kester de Oliveira, who is coming to us as a curate, will be ordained deacon at Bristol Cathedral on Sunday morning. This gives the following services for the coming week.
Weds 28th | 09:00am | All Saints | Celtic Morning Prayer |
​ | 6:30pm | ​ | Baptism / Confirmation discussions for adults |
Thurs 29th | 10:00am | St Mary's | Holy Communion |
Sun 2nd July | 10:00am | St Mary's | Creative Church |
10:00am | Bristol Cathedral | Ordination | |
​ | 10:30am | All Saints | Holy Communion |
This week, we are starting classes for anyone wishing to be baptised or confirmed. The sessions for young people will start at All Saints, starting this Sunday, 25th June, at 12.00 noon. Sessions for adults will start on Wednesday, 28th June, at 6.30 pm. If you are interested and have not let us know already, could you please contact me, Diane, or Lizzie.
God bless
Mark
Mark Simms Licensed Lay Minister Benefice of All Saints and St Mary, Fishponds