March 2010
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
March 7th: Odyssey: Christianity and art Preacher Canon Professor Ben Quash Ben Quash is a former Dean of Peterhouse, and is now Professor of Theology and Art at Kings' College London, and a Canon Theologian of Coventry Cathedral. In his Odyssey sermon he will reflect on two particular paintings, under the title 'What do we go into the wilderness to see?'
March 14th: Mothering Sunday Service Preachers Revd Dr Malcolm Guite This will be a service at which families with young children are especially welcome. Many children who come to St Edward's have been baptized there, and there is an ancient custom of people going back to the parish where they were baptized on this day. There will be posies for children to give to their mothers.
March 21st: Passion Sunday Eucharist Preacher Canon Fraser Watts The sacrament of Holy Communion was instituted on the day before when Jesus was crucified, and its signifiance is closely intertwined with his passion. On the passion Sunday we will particularly explore the significance of Jesus saying that the wine he shared with his disciples was 'my blood shed for you'.
March 28th: Sunday: Readings and Music Preacher Revd Malcolm Guite The service will begin with a procession commemorating Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. In the story, the mood of that triumphal entry quickly turns dark and, after a sermon, we will turn to a sequence of readings and music of passiontide. The music will be sung by Cantores, who sang for us at Passiontide last year. |
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Meditative Eucharist - Sunday at Five
March 7th: God and Evil Preacher Revd Fraser Watts Fraser will explore one of the most baffling and frequently asked questions, how does a good God permit evil and suffering in the world. The recent earthquake in Haiti has raised it again with fresh urgency.
March 14th: The humility of God Preacher Christina Johnson Christina will explore that question of Jesus, 'Who do you say that I am?', and the humility involved in God submitting himself to human consideration and opinion.
March 21st: Passion Sunday Preacher Canon Fraser Watts Two weeks before Easter, we reflect on Jesus going up to Jerusalem, 'to suffer and to die', and place the Eucharist, and our Christian discipleship in that context.
March 28th: Palm Sunday Preacher Revd Dr Malcolm Guite The service will begin with a Palm Sunday procession, and will be a reflection on the signifance of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, that was both triumphant and humble. |
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Lent Course: towards Easter with George Herbert
Malcolm Guite - Wednesdays at 5.30pm
Over five sessions we will explore some of George Herbert's poetry as a way of walking with him, and with one another, in the steps of Christ, as Christ walks with us, to Gethsemane, Golgotha, and the Easter Garden.
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Holy Week: Full details of the Holy Week services will be in the April newsletter. The preacher at the Good Friday service (12.00 noon) wil be Professor Brian Thorne.
Gothic Eucharists: Alternate Tuesdays at 8.30 pm. March 9th and 23rd. The preacher will be Malcolm Guite, beginning a series of sermons on the four creatures / evangelists.
Housegroup: Fortnightly meetings at 30 Rustat Road, at 7.30pm. New members welcome. Contact Stephen Davies or Christina Johnson.
Student Group: On Monday 1st March at 7.15, Fraser Watts wilL talk about God as a projection of the human mind.
Holistic Spirituality Group: This group, led by Malcolm, will meet on March 14th AND 28th at 3.30 pm, continuing discussions about weaving the sacred back into daily life.
Housegroup: Fortnightly meetings at 30 Rustat Road, at 7.30pm. New members welcome. Contact Stephen Davies or Christina Johnson.
Confirmation: If anyone else is interested in being confirmed at Easter, please contact Fraser.
Electoral roll: Members of the congregation who have been attending for 6 months are generally eligible to enrol. There are forms at the back of the church; please return them to Judith Tonry or Fraser.
Churchwardens: The churchwardens for the coming year will be elected immediately after the 11.00 am service on Sunday April 11th and will admitted to office at the Patronal Festival the following Sunday, April 18th. Steve Mastin and Judith Tonry are willing to serve for another year. Nominations must be made in advance of the meeting.
Annual Parochial Church Meeting: The meeting will be held in Church at 2.30 pm on Saturday 24th April. Ten ordinary members of Chapter will be elected, and may be nominated either in advance or at the meeting.
Sunday 8.00am Communion: Mar 7th: Lent 3; Mar 14th: Lent 4; Mar 21st: Lent 5; Mar 28th: Lent 6
Chaplain's Letter: Giving the House a spring clean! (Malcolm Guite)
By the time you read this I hope the fields and backs of Cambridge will be alive with new blossoms, all coming at once, in a delayed spring rush, after a severe winter. It may also be that the first stirrings of spring will have awoken in you that immemorial impulse to have a sort-out, a clear up, a new start, to make space and clarity for spring to come and to make room for new growth in your life. The instinct for the seasonal spring clean is a sound one and it doesn't just apply to our domestic clutter. The season of Lent is for many a kind of spiritual spring clean, a setting aside and leaving behind of old habits and false attachments so that we can live and breathe more deeply in the pure air of God's Holy Spirit.
It may be that we are also about to do some spring cleaning as a nation, that it will not just be your house and mine, but also the House of Commons that is about to get a clear out and a much needed spring clean! After the expenses debacle it is tempting to feel blase and cynical about the forthcoming general election, but I think it's a temptation we should resist. I have given up knocking MPs for Lent and am resolved instead to try and get some good ones into the House. Cynicism breeds cynicism, but the Church has a gospel of hope; a belief that everything can be redeemed.
I am very glad that political debate and social concern are alive and well at St. Edwards and that at least of our congregation is standing as a parliamentary candidate. Our congregation covers a wide range of political opinion and affiliation but we have a common conviction that the way we live together as a nation matters and we have a responsibility to participate. If anyone wants clear, unequivocal guidance from the church on what to look for in a parliamentary candidate then take a template from these words of Jesus: 'You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be servant of all.' (Mark 10.42-44)
Who knows; there may be some new and worthwhile blossoms on the banks of the Thames this spring, as well as on the backs of Cambridge.
Clergy: Revd Dr Fraser Watts (19, Grantchester Road, CB3 9ED; 359223); Revd Dr Malcolm Guite (694249); Canon Alan Cole (892286). Lay Chaplain: Mrs Christina Johnson (572669) Churchwardens: Mr Steven Mastin (361041); Mrs Judith Tonry (892160). Treasurer: Mr Geoffrey Barnes. Chapter Clerk: Mr Stephen Davies (242636). Student Pastor: Matt Owen (07791 647927). Church phone: 362004