A very warm welcome to all
Readings: Isaiah 1: 10-18; 2 Thessalonians 1: 1-4, 11-12
Gospel: Luke 19: 1-10
In our Gospel
In our Gospel reading today, Zacchaeus is described as a chief tax collector and he is rich. As such he was an outcast to his own people. He had no standing in society. He worked closely with the Roman occupiers. He preyed on his own people. He was looked down upon and despised by all. You may remember from last week’s Gospel that others pointed to his kind and thanked God they were not like him. He was, as St Luke says, “short in stature”.
War in Ukraine
Please continue to offer prayers for our brothers and sisters caught up in the mayhem that is Ukraine. Please think about what you can do to help in any way for those who continue to reach out to the rest of Europe and beyond for our assistance. Whatever method or organisation you use to make donations, please do it rather than thinking about it.
Please remember there is no 8am service at St Mary’s this Sunday the 30th of October.
Many thanks to Godwin Chimera
I am deeply grateful to Mr Godwin Chimara (Final year Ordinand in training) for agreeing to oversee this Service of the Word in my absence. This is a perfect example of just how inclusive we as a Church can be and I am absolutely sure everyone will be spiritually fulfilled as a result of this most valuable of ministries. Please find some time to speak and offer feedback to Godwin after the service, I know he will appreciate it.
Music Events
The following are dates of music based events arranged by our Director of Music, taking place at St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral over the coming weeks. I will be publishing the dates of Christmas services in our next newsletter.
6th of November at 3pm – Matthew Hamilton – Baritone Recital
20th of November at 3pm – Clara-Jane Maunder – Violin Recital
4th of December at 3pm – Melody Kondoff – Soprano Recital
18th of December at 3pm – Matthew Mcvey – Organ Recital
As always, these recitals are free entry but any donations will be gratefully received.
Collection Plate Assistance
I am making an appeal for help. Every Sunday, the plate collection needs to be counted and properly recorded. This should ideally be carried out by two people, to ensure propriety. We cannot always rely on Lydia our Treasurer to do this and it should really have independent oversight. I am therefore asking everyone to consider putting your name forward to assist in this small task. There will be guidance provided and it should not prove too onerous. Names in the first instance to me please.
Service of All Souls
At St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral on Wednesday the 2nd of November at 7pm, there will be a Service of All Souls, when we will remember those who have passed before us. There is a sheet at Font where I urge you to put the names of those whom you have lost so that they can be remembered at this service. As in previous occasions, we will read out the names of those to be remembered whether you are able or unable to attend the service.
Creche?
We are fortunate to have an ever increasing congregation of children attending our services and it is important that we make proper provision for them to ensure that they are both enjoying and benefitting from our worship. I am therefore putting forward an idea voiced by our Vestry committee to whether we could begin some sort of Creche during the service. This would entail parents and other volunteers to get involved and the ideal place for this would be in the Crypt. The details of what we could do is still a work in progress but I am interested to see if there are any expressions of interest before we move forward.
Jacket Potato
‘Jacket Potato’ is an appeal to everyone to have a look through your unused coats and jackets, gloves and scarves, and consider donating them to us here at St Mary’s. Once we have what is considered a sufficient amount, we will, after some advertising, invite anyone, who, through no fault of their own, have fallen on hard times, to come along to find a garment that fits and to take it free of charge. There will be a limit of one garment per person, and the thinking behind this venture is to ensure that as the winter months fast approach, we here at St Mary’s can ‘do our bit’ to help those who might otherwise go cold. This will take place on Saturday the 3rd of December commencing at 10am. On the day we can have jacket potatoes and beans available for anyone who wants to have a hot meal. If you do decide to donate a coat or jacket, please ensure that it is serviceable to wear, e.g, all buttons etc, are in place. Also, if you have a coat rail of some kind we can borrow to hang the items donated that would be great. ‘And he answered and he said to them’, “Whoever has two coats, let him give to him who has not, and whoever has food should do likewise.” (Luke 3: 11)
Jewellery
As mentioned in previous weeks, I am asking you to look through your jewellery boxes to see if you are prepared to part with something that you really haven’t used for years or maybe you just feel like donating something you have no further use of. Of course, it doesn’t have to be gold, it could be any type of jewellery that we might be able to sell on to a jewellers. In any case, I am now appealing to you to consider this and I intend to keep this running for the next 3 months, at which point we can assess where we are.
Vestry Vacancies
We have two vacancies on St Mary’s Vestry for Ordinary Members, and I would strongly urge those who feel that they could offer something to assist in the management of our Church to speak to me. Vestry membership is a rewarding role and provides an insight in to how we reach the decisions we do in our work here at Carden Place.
Holy Land Pilgrimage
I have put some details of a proposed pilgrimage to the Holy Land in April 2024 on the noticeboard in the Choir Vestry. Should anyone expressing an interest in this, please let me know and I will endeavour to obtain more details for you.
Photography Competition 2022
Photography Competition 2022 : Thank you to everyone who contributed to or photograph competition. It has been an amazing response and there are some wonderful photographs. I am currently researching who can be the judge for this years excellent entries. Once this has been done I will announce the three chosen submissions. As previously, some of the photographs submitted will form St Mary’s calendar for next year
Services/Events Commencing Sunday the 30th October 2022
Sunday 30th October at 10 am Service of the Word – (Mr Godwin Chimara)
Tuesday 1st November at 10 am – Holy Communion – All Saints (Fr Roger)
Wednesday 2nd November at 10am – Holy Communion (1970 – Fr Roger)
Wednesday 2nd November at 7pm – All Souls Service (Fr Roger)
Friday 4th October at 6pm – Compline (Fr Roger)
Sunday 6th November at 8 am – Holy Communion (1970 – Cn Terry)
Sunday 6th November at 10 am – Sung Eucharist (1982 – Cn Terry)
Sunday 6th November at 3pm – Baritone Recital by Matthew Hamilton
Readings: Job 19: 23-27a; Psalm 17: 1-9; 2 Thessalonians 2: 1-5, 13-17
Gospel: Luke 20: 27-38
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world”
(Harriet Tubman)
Cn Terry Taggart:
01224588776/07768219984