May 2009

Services

Sunday Services	Friday Services
8.00 am Holy Communion (Prayer book)	10.30 am Holy Communion (Prayer book)
11.00 am Sunday at Eleven	5.30 pm Meditation
5.00 pm Meditative Eucharist

Sunday at Eleven May 3rd: Odyssey Preacher Canon Fraser Watts The present economic difficulties give us an opportunity to re-evaluate how our society is run, and to base it more explicitly on Christian principles. Fraser will explore a Christian approach to our economics affairs, and how that relates to spiritual, cultural and political life. May 10th Eucharist Preacher Revd Ros Lane At this Eucharist, Ros Lane, an experienced prison Chaplain, will talk about the work of the church with offenders and prisoners, and how that can bring the gospel alive. May 17th: Healing Service Preacher Revd Dr Malcolm Guite Continuing our series of quarterly healing services, we reflect on how faith can contribute to healing, and invite those who wish to receive laying on of hands for healing. May 24th: Ely Anniversary Service Preacher Revd Dr Malcolm Guite This year the Diocese of Ely celebrates its 900th anniversary. We will give thanks for that Christian heritage, and focus particularly on our church bells, which have been rung through many different eras of church life. May 31st: Pentecost Celebration Preacher Canon Fraser Watts At Pentecost we give thanks for the Holy Spirit, the life and breath of the church. We will look particularly at how Christian belief in the Holy Spirit connects with the spiritual hunger of our times, and at how the Spirit can reinvigorate church life.

Meditative Eucharist - Sunday at Five
What the Resurrection Means to Me
Lay members of the St Edwards' congregation talk about what the Resurrection means to them May 3rd: Peter Marshall
Christianity after Darwin In this Darwin anniversary year, Fraser Watts will put Christian belief in the context of Evolution.
May 10th	Darwin's gifts to Christianity
May 17th	Creator: an evolutionary view (Rogation Sunday)
May 24th	Christ: an evolutionary view (Ascension Sunday)
May 31st	Spirit: an evolutionary view (Pentecost Sunday)

Holistic Spirituality Group: The group will resume after Easter on April 26th at 3.30 pm, meeting also on May 10th and 24th. It will focus this term on the relationhip between Christianity and New Age, including a discussion of the significance of the Findhorn community.

Goth Eucharists: Alternate Tuesdays at 8.30 pm. Liturgy, secular music and sermons on challenging issues. May 5th: God and suffering: why? (Fraser Watts); May 19th: Coping with suffering (Fraser Watts)

Ascension Day: Thursday 21st May is Ascension Day, one of the major Christian festivals, and there will be a special Eucharist at 7.30 pm at would Fraser will preside and preach.

Lay Chaplain: The Chapter and I have invited Mrs. Christina Johnson to join the ministry team at St Edwards as a Lay Chaplain, and she has kindly agreed to take on that responsibility, on a voluntary basis. Those who know her, or who may have attended her Lent course, will realize that she is very well suited to this role. She will be formally admitted as a Lay Chaplain on Sunday 3rd May.

House Group: Several members of the congregation have expressed an interest in forming a regular house group, and we will shortly convene an initial meeting of those who have expressed interest. If you would like to be part of that, please let me know as soon as possible.

Vocations to Ordained Ministry: We have at a remarkable number of people at St Edward's considering ordination. There ordinands in training attached to as from the theological colleges, there are four people associated with St Edward's at some stage of the selection process for ordained ministry, and several more considering offering themselves for ordination or for the religious life. I hope shortly to convene a meeting of all those considering ordination. If you would like to be included, and I have not already been in touch with you about it, please let me know asap.

Sunday 8.00 am Holy Communion: The Epistles and Gospels, from the Book of Common Prayer, will be: May 3rd: Easter 3; May 10th: Easter 4; May 17th: Easter 5; May 24th: Ascension 1; May 31st: Whit Sunday.

Readers at 11.00 am: 3rd C Johnson and R Lynden-Bell; 10th D Hirst and Chaplan; 17th R Adams and W Caan; 24th A Finn and D Lynden-Bell; 31st F Woodhead and C Martin.

Chaplain’s Letter: Earth in heaven / Heaven in earth

This May sees the celebration of both Ascension Day and Pentecost, two great festivals which in opposite, yet complementary ways, express the dynamic relations between Heaven and Earth, God and Humanity.

Ascension Day speaks of the risen Christ in all his humanity, which includes all of our humanity, 'ascending' to be at the right hand of the Father, in the heart of Heaven. It is the day we remember that in Christ our human nature is brought to the core and source of all things, as God draws humanity into himself.

Pentecost is the day we celebrate the related but opposite movement; God-head coming down to earth to the level of humanity; God the Holy Spirit, 'descends' and comes to dwell within human beings, to be as close to us as our own breath and yet as free and powerful as the winds that blow, and by so doing to change, in every sense, the atmosphere in which we live. For the Greek word for the spirit; pneuma, means breath and wind and spirit all at once.

If Ascension Day means that we have all been lifted up to Heaven by God's love, Pentecost means that the same God, by the same love has also come down to be with us and in us. We sometimes need to make a distinction between Heaven and Earth, but we should never forget that God is in both places at once and so are we!

What does all this mean practically for us now? Firstly it means there's no place we should call Godless! There are no ordinary places, only sacred places, and desecrated places. We need to recognise the first and re-consecrate the second. St. Edward's is a sacred place and being there together can help us discern the sacred in every other place. Secondly it means that everyone we meet belongs in Heaven, even and especially the ones who are (temporarily) living in the gutter. We need to recognise ourselves and others as heavenly beings and treat each other accordingly. St, Edward's in May will, I hope, be a place where we can find the focus and renew the vision that will make all these recognitions possible.

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: Mr Steven Mastin (361041, stevenjamesmastin@yahoo.co.uk); Mrs Judith Tonry (892160, judith@tonry.co.uk). Treasurer: Mr Geoffrey Barnes. Chapter Clerk: Mr Stephen Davies (242636, stephdvs@btinernet.com). Church phone: 362004