Trinity Sunday
Readings:
Isaiah 40:12-17, 27-end; Psalm 8; 2 Cor 13: 11-end
Gospel: Matthew 28: 16-20
Trinity
When it comes to speaking of God, especially God as Trinity, three persons and one essence, we always risk saying more than we really know, or can ever know. That is the risk today on the Feast of the Holy Trinity. It is the temptation before every preacher. More often than not, our analogies for the Trinity give way to heresies, the three and the one tend to become a nonsensical maths problem, and the Blessed Trinity is left holding little meaning for our day to day life. This is not because the Trinity is unimportant or irrelevant. It is because the deepest and most important things of our life can rarely, if ever, be spoken about. They can only be experienced.
The Cathedral Church of St Andrew
The Cathedral Church of St Andrew’s will close temporarily in September, in order that an assessment of what essential maintenance needs to be carried out. It was, no doubt, with a heavy heart that this decision was taken, but it certainly was not taken lightly. As was highlighted in various communications from Bishop Anne, St Andrew’s could not sustain another winter given the current outstanding issues. Therefore, after much consultation over an extended period, it was eventually agreed that St Mary’s would become the Provisional (Pro) Cathedral from 27th of September this year and therefore the Seat of the Bishop of the Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney. There is much to consider with this decision and no doubt there will be a lot of work ahead of us. Personally I am delighted that we at St Mary’s are able to offer a temporary home for the congregation and Clergy of St Andrew’s and I know that everything possible will be done to ensure that this transition is as comfortable and trouble free. I know that many of you will have questions and I would encourage you to let me know what they are. St Mary’s Vestry and I have already asked a multitude of questions of Bishop Anne which she has graciously answered so I am more than ready for any concerns you might have. I intend preparing a list of questions and answers which I will provide both by email and post, which I hope will allay most of your concerns if any. There are exciting times ahead and I look forward to working with The Very Rev’d Isaac Poobalan and all of St Andrew’s congregation.
Church giving
During this time of restriction, I have had a few enquiries regarding Church giving. As a church, we still have financial commitments to honour and therefore our stream of income needs to continue. Many of you give by way of standing order / direct debit and we are thankful for this. Many of you have increased your giving as a result of our recent stewardship campaign for which I am extremely grateful. I would urge those who have not responded to my mail drop to give consideration to this, only if you are able. Many of you donate by envelope, and should you wish these to be collected, please get in touch with me and I will arrange an opportunity to do so soon. My details are at the bottom of this newsletter. There is however, one alternative you might wish to consider and that is, making your payments direct to our Church account. Should you wish to do that during this period, let me know and I can provide the necessary bank details required. This could be considered should you not wish to give by envelope during the restrictions.
Church Vestry Committee vacancies
You may recall that St Mary’s has two vacancies on our Church Vestry Committee, that of People’s Warden (recently vacated by Graham Thomson who is now our PVG Officer) and for one ordinary Vestry member. The Vestry and I are keen to have these posts filled, especially now as we enter a time where as much help as possible will be gratefully received. Please let me know if you are interested in either post and we can have a chat.
Join our team
On the subject of vacancies, I am also interested to hear from anyone who might be interested in becoming part of our communications team. This is an important role and even more so now that our profile will change somewhat. It will be vital that we have people who have good communication skills and even better, good IT skills. Please let me know if you are interested.
The Queens Award for Voluntary Service
The Queens Award for Voluntary Service has been given to the Aberdeen Street Pastors. This is the highest award a voluntary group can receive and is equivalent to an MBE. Our own Carol Graham is a Street Pastor in Aberdeen and we are so pleased that she and her colleagues are being honoured in this way. Well done Carol !!!
St Mary’s Quarterly Magazine
The Quarterly Magazine is also ready and has been emailed to those recipients whose contact details I hold. If you are not one of these people and would like to be added to my email list, please contact me and I will gladly forward it to you. My thanks go to Dr Nicola Mills for editing as usual.
We bind unto ourselves today
The strong name of the Trinity
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One, and One in Three.
Of whom all nature has creation;
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word.
Praise to the Lord of our salvation;
Salvation is of Christ the Lord. Amen.
(Arnold Ruddat – Lutheran Pastor)
Blessings Always
Fr Terry Taggart
Rector