JANUARY 2008
SERVICES
| 6th Epiphany | 20th Epiphany 2 |
|---|---|
| 8.00 am Holy Communion | 8.00 am Holy Communion |
| 11.00 am Mattins & Sermon | 11.00 am Holy Communion |
| Preacher: Revd Dr Fraser Watts | Preacher: Fr Matthew Solomon |
| 5.00 pm Meditative Eucharist | 5.00 pm Meditative Eucharist |
| Preacher Revd Dr Fraser Watts | Preacher: Mr Charles Moloney |
| 13th Epiphany 1 | 27th Epiphany 3 |
| 8.00 am Holy Communion | 8.00 am Holy Communion |
| 11.00 am Odyssey | 11.00 am Mattins & Sermon |
| Preacher: Revd Chris McKenna | Preacher: Revd Dr Malcolm Guite |
| 5.00 pm Meditative Eucharist | 5.00 pm Meditative Eucharist |
| Preacher: Revd Dr Malcolm Guite | Preacher: Revd Dr Fraser Watts |
| Fridays: 10.30 am Holy Communion 5.30 pm Meditation | |
11.00 am READINGS
| Theme | Old Testament/Epistle | New Testament/Gospel |
| 6 Epiphany | Mike Lee Isaiah 60. 1-6 | Ruth Lynden-Bell Matthew 2. 1-12 |
| 20 Signs of Glory | Ray Adams Romans 12. 6-16a | Chaplain John 2. 1-11 |
| 27 Sowing the Word | Geoff Barnes Job 28. 12-end |
Elizabeth Edwards Luke 8. 4b-15 |
Readers for February
4: C Martin & C Walker;
11: A Stacey & Ordinand;
18: D Hirst & Chaplain;
25 J Adams & W Caan
Watchnight service: There will be a short watchnight service at 11.40 pm on Monday December 31st followed by ringing in of the New Year and refreshments in the ringing chamber. All welcome.
Twelfth Night Eucharist: There will be a contemplative Eucharist, with much silence, at 5.00 pm on Saturday January 5th, which is ‘twenfth night’ and the Eve of the Epiphany. The last two contemplative Eucharists (All Souls Day and the Eve of Advent) have been well attended and warmly received.
Odyssey: The preacher at Odyssey this month (Jan 13th, 11.00
am) will be the Reverend Chris McKenna,
a priest and psychotherapist who is Director of the St Marylebone Healing
and Counselling Centre in London. He will explore the contribution that Christianity
can make to healing of body, mind and spirit.
Christian Unity: The annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity runs from January 18th – 25th. The preacher at the 11.00 am service on January 20th will be Fr Matthew Solomon, a Catholic priest from Australia who is doing research in Cambridge. It will probably be the first time that a Catholic priest has preached in our pulpit since the sixteenth century, and it will be a small step towards healing the divisions stemming from that time.
Evening Eucharist: The themes for the 5.00 pm Eucharist on the first three Sundays of 2008 will reflect different aspects of the ‘Epiphany’ theme. Jan 6th: The Journey of the Magi. Jan 13th: The Baptism of Christ (at which there will be renewal of Baptismal vows). Jan 20th: The Glory of God Revealed in Christ (with an opportunity for laying on of hands for healing); the preacher will be Charlie Moloney, who is training for ordination at Ridley Hall. On Jan 27th: Fraser will begin a sermon series on ‘raising consciousness’.
Quiet Day: There will be a quiet day at St Edward’s on Saturday 19th January, from 11.00 am – 1.00 pm, led by Bishop Simon Barrington-Ward, who will lead a session making practical use of the Jesus Prayer. Bishop Simon is a great enthusiast for the Jesus Prayer, and this should be a moving session of spiritual practice. We hope to have a further quiet day at Little Gidding in April.
Holistic Spirituality: This discussion group will continue to meet twice a month, on Jan 6th & 20th at 3.30 pm. The first meeting on Jan 6th, led by Fraser and Jeannet, will explore how the goup could contribute to the ‘connecting communities’ programme in Cambridge.
Beta Course: A number of people have indicated an interest in doing the Beta course, a psychologically-informed video-based introuduction to Christianity produced by Sara Savage, Fraser Watts and others. It will begin in mid-January and run over 10 weeks. If you would like to join, please let Fraser know asap and we will try to find a time that suits everyone.
Gothic Eucharists: The Gothic Eucharist will begin again, after the Christmas break, on Tuesday January 15th (8.45 pm). This first one of the new series will be on ‘Persons and Personas: A Conversation with the Music of David Bowie’, at which Malcolm will preach.
Library: The church has a library with some very interesting books on a broad range of subjects concerned with spirituality. They are located near the entrance to the right-hand chapel in the church. Members of the congregation are welcome to borrow them. Please sign them out in the book provided. We also have been given a regular subscription to the magazine ‘Resurgance’, which you are invited to read.
Honorary Canon: Fraser has been invited by the Bishop of Ely to become an Honorary Canon of Ely Cathedral, and will be installed at Evensong in the Cathedral on Saturday January 19th at 5.30 pm. Members of the congregation who would like to attend would of course be very welcome.
Electoral roll: Regular members of the congregation who are not on the electoral roll are encouraged to fill out an application form, so they can take part in the Church Annual Parochial Meeting in April. Forms are available at the back of the church. Please return them to Judith Tonry (the electoral roll officer) or to Fraser.
Gift Envelopes: It enormously increased the benefits to the church of contrubutions to the collection at services if tax-payers gift aid what they give, so the church can recover the tax paid on that money. The simplest way of doing that is to complete a gift aid form and then to put yur collection in weekly envelopes that we supply. If you are a tax payer who gives regularly, we would be very grateful if you would give in this way. Please have aword with Fraser or Geoff Barnes.
Deputy Warden: Mrs Judith Tonry has been appointed by the Chapter as an additional Deputy Warden, and has indicated her willingness to stand for election as Churchwarden next April, when Dr Edward’s is retiring.
From the Vicar-Chaplain
Ring out the old, ring in the new is an old refrain, but there is something
very curious about the way we use the words old and new at this turn of the
year. We speak of the New Year when its advent can only mean that we, and
our entire world are in fact older. We glance over our shoulders at the old
year where we in fact were younger. Yet, on Christ’s account, we reserve our
hope, our sense of what is new and young, for the future and not the past.
The mystery of Christian Hope is mapped out at St. Edwards in a sacred geometry,
a mystical orientation of the church itself:
Our journey through time, the journey from cradle to grave, is travelled from
East to West, from the sunrise of our birth, through our morning and noon,
to the sunset and decline of our old age. In the direction of our chronology,
the New Year makes us older. But our spiritual journey is in the opposite
direction!
Spiritually we journey from West to East, from Death to Life. The font is
at the West end of our church, for in that font our death is met and dealt
with by the death of Christ. We are baptised into His death as part of our
new birth, a birth which has no death to face, for death, from now on, is
behind us, not in front. We journey Eastward from the font towards the altar
where Christ, the Oriens, the daystar who is always The Beginning calls us
to renewal. Spirituality reverses Chronology. Christ, our beginning, waits
for us at the end of time. This New Year and every New Year brings us closer
to the source of our being. And this is why Paul writes: “So we do not lose
heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being
renewed day by day.” Or, as Bob Dylan, another inspired Jewish-Christian writer
was to say;
Ah but I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now!
Malcolm Guite
Malcolm Guite
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