‘You are my hope, O Lord God‘
A very warm welcome to all
Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
Readings: Jeremiah 1: 4-10; Psalm 71: 1-6; 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13
Gospel: Luke 4: 21-30
In today’s Gospel
The people in the synagogue were looking forward to some ‘hometown’ privilege. They saw themselves as special and they are peeved when they realise that Jesus won’t play to their presumed privilege, and that they are being passed over. That’s what enrages them. They are raging mad about being passed over. And I can’t help but wonder if we might not sometimes be the hometown crowd, if we somehow see ourselves as Jesus’ favourites. I can’t help but wonder if we don’t also assume some privileged status when it comes to Jesus, as if he always chooses (or should choose) our side, our church, our party, our country. And I can’t help but wonder if we’re not also in danger of being passed over. Food for thought?
Fellowship
We are now having teas and coffees fellowship after the service, so please feel free to join us if you can and we can all have a catch up. You will notice that the pews are now back to their original positions, and all I suggest is that we use common sense when we sit and move around.
Candlemas
It was an option to transfer the Candlemas service to today, however, I have decided that this will take place on the official date, being Wednesday the 2nd of February at the 10 am Holy Communion. Also, today being the 5th Sunday of the month, we will be using the 1970 liturgy. .
Scaffolding
Please be very careful around the current scaffolding we have in place, especially if you are using the pathway at the side of the church.
Zoom Quiz
There will be a Zoom Quiz which will take place on Friday night 11/02/2022. If you fancy having a fun night with friends from the comfort of your own home, why not join us for the St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral Friday Night Zoom Quiz on 11th February at 7:30pm. A Zoom link will be sent out in good time for all who are interested in joining in.
Singing the Psalm
You will see attached to the newsletter, the words and music for our Psalm today which we will sing. If you are familiar with this, please join in where you can. We hope to make this a regular occurrence in our worship.
AGM
I hope to be able to email out the AGM documentation to everyone later in the week. This documentation will consist of relevant reports from the key Vestry Officers together with my own report. It will also contain the official agenda for the meeting itself which will commence directly after the 10 am service on Sunday the 6th of February.
We see the departure of Ms Elizabeth Smyth as our Vestry Secretary. Elizabeth will also relinquish her role as Alternate Lay Representative for General Synod which which we already have one name already to be considered. This therefore creates a vacancy for a Vestry Secretary and I appeal to anyone who might consider taking on this important post to contact me at your earliest opportunity.
Several Weeks ago, Mr Iain Stewart was co-opted onto our Vestry Committee and we are fortunate to have Iain contributing to the welfare of this Church. Iain has also offered to be our People’s Warden, a role that has been vacant for several months. The process for this position is open to anyone who wishes to be considered. Should there be more than one name submitted, it will be put to a ballot on the day of the AGM. If no-one else comes forward then it will be proposed that Iain becomes the new People’s Warden. (See attached sheet)
The position of Lay representative at General Synod, which is currently held by Dr Nicola Mills, will also be put to a ballot should there be more than one name submitted. Dr Mills has agreed to continue in the role and will abide by a ballot should that be necessary. (See attached sheet)
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 before our AGM. 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.
Readers / Intercessions
Iain Stewart has asked me to put out a call for more people to consider volunteering to read scripture and intercede at our worship. Should you feel so inclined, I encourage anyone who is considering this valuable ministry to approach Ian in the first instance.
Peace/Therapy Garden
I continue to draw you attention to our proposals for the Peace/Therapy Garden at the front of the Church. We have obtained some samples of ideas re what the garden could look like, and we (The Vestry) would value your opinion on what your preference might be. Please take some time to click on the following link where all will be revealed.https://stmaryscardenplace.org.uk/notices/west-end-garden-project/
Forthcoming Events
You will find a calendar of events on our website at: https://stmaryscardenplace.org.uk/notices/st-marys-pro-cathedral-fundraising-and-social-events/ covering the next several months. We will also place a few of these event calendars around the church for your perusal and diaries.
St Mary’s AGM and Constitution Change
St Mary’s AGM will take place on Sunday the 6th of February 2022 and we are proposing to make a change to our Constitution. St Mary’s Constitution states that we must hold our AGM within three months of our financial year end, which is the 30th of September. We would like to extend this period to six months which effectively brings the Constitution line with what we have been doing for a number of years. The result of this is that we would be required to hold our AGM by 31st March as opposed to 31st December.
Services/Events at St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral w/c Sunday the 30th January 2022
Sunday 30th January – All Services cancelled due to storm damage
Monday 31st January – Cn Terry – Day off
Tuesday 1st February at 10 am Morning Prayers
Wednesday 2nd February at 10 am – Said Eucharist (1970- Cn Terry)
Friday 4th February at 6 pm – Compline (Cn Terry)
Sunday 6th February at 8 am – Holy Communion (1970 – Cn Terry)
Sunday 6th February at 10 am – 5th Sunday after Epiphany – Sung Eucharist (1982 – Cn Terry) Followed by the AGM
“Mankind will never see an end of trouble until lovers of wisdom come to hold political power, or the holders of power become lovers of wisdom”
(Plato)
Blessings Always
Rev Canon Terry Taggart
01224588776/07768219984