Last month, I wrote of the invasion of Ukraine, and encouraged all to pray for Ukraine, and for peace, and to join us for a special service of prayer for peace on Ash Wednesday (2nd March, in St Giles’ Horspath).
Here we are, a month on, and I am sure we all continue to hold Ukraine, Russia, peace, and the millions of refugees who have fled Ukraine, or been internally displaced, in our thoughts and prayers. Many of us will also have donated money, or medical provisions, or other items, to charities and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) operating in Ukraine. And some of us might have considered practical ways of helping refugees, including, perhaps, welcoming refugees into our homes. Many of us won’t feel able to open our doors and homes to refugees, but we can all open our hearts and continue to pray for peace and for the withdrawal of Russian troops, an end to the bombing and destruction, and for a time of rebuilding and restoration.
All Saints’ and our sister churches in Garsington and Horspath are open daily for private prayer and reflection, but we will continue to look for other opportunities to pray for peace and to support the people of Ukraine. One such opportunity, in All Saints’, will (I hope, but still in the planning stage) be on Tuesday 12th April, when I hope to set up a prayer station and prayer activities in church in the morning for individual prayer, with the possibility for people to gather and pray together at 2pm and at 7pm. There will also be an opportunity to pray for peace, with others, in St Giles’ Horspath, from 7:30pm – 8pm on Wednesday 13th April.
I last wrote to you shortly before the beginning of Lent. By the time you read this newsletter, we will be approaching Holy Week – with its sombre and solemn observation of the period marking the journey from Jesus’ dramatic entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, to his death on the cross on Good Friday, the emptiness of Holy Saturday, and then the joy of the empty tomb and Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Day. I always feel that we can’t fully experience the joy of Easter Day if we have not first sat with Jesus and his disciples in the Upper Room, in the Garden of Gethsemane, and at the foot of the cross, then endured the emptiness and despair of Holy Saturday. Throughout the Benefice, we will have a number of services inviting us to enter into the story of Holy Week and Easter, and I do urge you – if you can – to travel around the Benefice to join me and others on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Day.
However, I’d like to draw your attention, in particular, to events and services here in Cuddesdon (All Saints’ Church):
- The vigil for peace on 12th April (probably 2pm and 6pm)
- The Maundy Thursday Eucharist and Watch (14th April, 7:30pm)
- Our Easter Day celebrations on Sunday 17th April at 8am (BCP Holy Communion) and 9:30am (Parish Communion)
I look forward to seeing you then.
God bless
Karen
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|