April 2008
SERVICES
| 6th Easter 2 | 20th Easter 4 |
|---|---|
| 8.00 am Holy Communion | 8.00 am Holy Communion |
| 11.00 am Odyssey | 11.00 am Holy Communion |
| Preacher: Revd Dr Joann Collicutt | Preacher: Ms Rebekah Cannon |
| 5.00 pm Meditative Eucharist | 5.00 pm Meditative Eucharist |
| Preacher: Revd Dr Malcolm Guite | Preacher: Canon Fraser Watts |
| 13th Patronal Festival | 27th Easter 5 |
| 8.00 am Holy Communion | 8.00 am Holy Communion |
| 11.00 am Mattins & Sermon | 11.00 am Mattins & Sermon |
| Preacher: Canon Martin Seeley | Preacher: Canon Fraser Watts |
| 5.00 pm Meditative Eucharist | 5.00 pm Meditative Eucharist |
| Preacher: to be announced | Preacher: Ms Rebekah Cannon |
| Fridays: 10.30 am Holy Communion 5.30 pm Meditation | |
11.00 am READINGS
| Theme | Old Testament/Epistle | New Testament/Gospel |
| 6 Resurrection | W Caan tba | C Martin tba |
| 13 Patronal | R Lynden-Bell Ecclesiasticus 2. 7-18 | S Mastin 1 Peter 2. 1-10 |
| 20 Easter 4 | D Hirst James 1. 17-21 | Chaplain John 16. 5-15 |
| 27 Rogation | J Adams 1 Samuel 1. 1a, 2, 4-20 | C Walker James 5. 7-end |
Readers for May
4th: Ordinand & A Stacey
11th: R Adams & Chaplain
18th: G Barnes & E Edwards
25th: M Lee & C Martin
Odyssey: The preacher at Odyssey this month (April 6th, 11.00 am) will be the Reverend Dr Joanna Collicutt, Lecturer in Psychology at Heythrop College in the University of London, and non-stipendiary minister in Witney Team Parish in the Diocese of Oxford. She will explore the disciples response to Jesus’ crucifixion as a kind of ‘post-traumatic growth’.
Patronal Festival: The Patronal Festival service will be 11.00 am Mattins on Sunday April 13th. During the service, the new Churchwardens will be admitted to office by the Master of Trinity Hall. The preacher will be Canon Martin Seeley, Principal of Westcott House. After the service, at c 12.20 pm, there will be a parish lunch at Trinity Hall, to which all members of the St Edward’s congregation are very welcome (cost £3.00).
Annual Parochial Church Meeting: This year’s meeting will be at 2.00 pm on Sunday April 13th, in the Chapel of Trinity Hall (following the Patronal Festival lunch at Trinity Hall). Papers for members of the electoral roll will be available from March 30th. The business will include election of two representatives to the Deanery Synod (Dr Elizabeth Edwards and My Geoffrey Barnes are willing to stand), and ten ordinary members of the Chapter. Nominations may be made either in writing in advance, or at the meeting. There will also be a discussion of the future of the 11.00 am service, on which a background discussion paper is available.
Contemplative Eucharist: There will be a contemplative Eucharist, with much silence, at 5.00 pm on Saturday April 12th, the eve of the Patronal Festival and Annual Chruch Meeting. It will be an opportunity to give thanks for the renewal of St Edward’s, and to pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Holistic Spirituality: There will be meetings on April 13th & 27th at 3.30 pm, led by Malcolm.
Beta Course: The Beta Course will resume on April 20th at 3.00 pm in the Solarium of Queens’ College, led by Fraser (not April 6th as previously incicated). The theme will be depression. There will be further sessions on May 4th & 18th.
Gothic Eucharist: The April Goth Eucharist will be at 8.30 pm on Tuesday April 8th. (Note the earlier time). Malcolm will preach on ‘Fantasy Combat? Unmasking the Powers’.
Chapter: The first meeting of the newly elected chapter wil be at 6.30 pm on Monday 28th May.
From the Vicar-Chaplain
There are always two alternatives facing churches, decline and renewal. Many churches oscillate uneasily between the two. That is understandable, because many things that were initially well-intentioned and life-giving can end up being counterproductive. If spiritual gold is hoarded, it easily terms to dross; what was once a movement for renewal can all too easily lead towards decline. However, whenever there is decline, there is also the possibility of renewal. We can always return to those deep spiritual wells from which we have drunk deeply in the past and taste again their life-giving water. We can return to Christ, and experience through him a springtime of resurrection in the church. We can open ourselves to the Holy Spirit, so that he can move more freely through the sometimes rather stiff limbs of the body of the church.
There are many encouraging signs of springtime in the life of St Edward’s. Odyssey has clearly met the needs of many people, and more people than ever before are coming to the Sunday evening Eucharist. It is also encouraging how many people have come to our occasional ‘Contemplative Eucharists’, a very simple form of Eucharist in which about half the service is spent in silent reflection. Many of our services have a good age range in the congregation, from young to old, at a time when many churches are attended only by older people. After many fallow years, there is now a regular stream of people coming forward for confirmation. We also have several young people in our church who want to offer themselves for ordained ministry. At many services and discussions at St Edward’s, there is a palpable atmosphere of enthusiasm and vitality. People are learning new and deeper forms of spirituality here. These are all signs of springtime and renewal, for which we should give thanks.
I am also very encouraged by the fact that many people in our congregation would not be going to any church if it were not for St Edward’s. We are, in that sense, a missionary church that is providing a Christian lifeline to people who would not otherwise have one. We seem to be building a coalition of various groups who, for one reason or another, have become alienated from much of the rest of the church. For example, we have ‘post-evangelicals’, who bring with them a strong Christian commitment, but who now need to live that out in the more liberal and inclusive atmosphere they find with us. We also have many people who are looking for the quiet dignity of traditional Church of England worship that uses the Book of the Common Prayer, and have become alienated from much of the rest of the Church of England, where that now seems lacking. We have people who pursue various forms of spiritual practice in the secular world and have been looking for a Christian church that is serious about spirituality, and found one in St Edward’s. We have people who, alongside their Christian commitment, find things they value in other faith traditions, and want to explore that in the context of the kind of tolerant, open-minded Christianity that they find with us. We have people looking for a church that can support and stimulate them in their journey of intellectual exploration. It is remarkable how many different groups seem to be finding a spiritual home at St Edward’s.
There is thus much for us to be encouraged by. We should certainly take heart from so many positive signs, and consider how we can best build on what is working and growing. We are already meeting the spiritual needs of a growing number of people in Cambridge, but I suspect that is only the ‘tip of the iceberg’. I belive that there are many, many more people who would value what they can find at St Edward’s. Now is the time to be bold and imaginative. If we take the opportunities offered to us, we could become a spiritual home to a great many people and, in the process, become a very lively church. I hope that we will be willing, under God, to transform ourselves so that we can embrace the opportunities open to us. That does not require any revolutionary change; just building steadily and sensibly on the steps we have already taken.
Fraser Watts
Clergy: Revd. Dr. Fraser Watts (19, Grantchester Road, CB3 9ED; 359223, fnw1001@cam.ac.uk); Revd Dr Malcolm Guite (694249, mg320@cam.ac.uk); Canon Alan Cole (892286, alan73@waitrose.com). Churchwardens: Dr. Elizabeth Edwards (313570, elizedwards@waitrose.com); Mr Steven Mastin (361041, stevenjamesmastin@yahoo.co.uk).Treasurer: Mr Geoffrey Barnes; (717757, Geoff.Barnes@cambridgeshire.gov.uk). Reader: Mr. Peter Marshall (564471). Church phone: 362004.
Find us at www.st-edwards-cam.org.uk