SEPTEMBER 2006

SERVICES

11.00 am READINGS

Theme Old Testament/Epistle New Testament/Gospel
10th Trinity 13 B Cole* Galatians 3. 16-22 Chaplain Luke 10. 23b-37
17th Baptism A Finn Ezekiel 36. 24-28 E Edwards Matthew 7. 21 & 24-28
24th TBA M Lee TBA P Marshall TBA

October 1st G Barnes & P Osbourn
8th S Mastin & C Martin
15th D Hirst & Chaplain
22nd J Dent & C Walker
29th M Lee & E Edwards

Open Oasis

Saturday 2nd September 11.00 am - 2.30 pm

We are planning various zones to illustrate the life of the Church, including, we hope, the following: Prayer Book/Reformation, Meditation, the Goth Eucharist, Odyssey, Mama Jane's Centre, and a Year in the Life of St Edward's. Light refreshments will be served. If you can help with any of these, please speak to one of the clergy or churchwardens. There will also be a series of events linked to the various zones.

• 12.00 noon Re-enactment from Latimer's pulpit
• 12:30 p.m. Music from the meditative service
• 1.00 pm The BBC film of the Goth Eucharist
• 1:30 p.m. Odyssey, poetry and prayer

Faith Hope and Poetry

Wednesdays at 5:30 pm from 27th Sept -1st November

A series of six talks by Malcolm Guite on reading poetry for a renewal of vision and spiritual life.

27th September

Poetry and Transfiguration: Reading for a new vision

4th October:

Seeing through Dreams: Image and truth in early dream-poems

11th October:

Truth through Feigning: Story and play in Shakespeare

18th October:

A Second Glance: Transfigured vision in the poems of John Donne and George Herbert.

25th October:

A Secret Ministry: Journeying with Coleridge to the source of the Imagination

1st November:

The Replenishing Fountain: Hope and Renewal in the Poetry of Seamus Heaney

Sunday Mornings: The theme of this month's Odyssey at which Malcolm will preach (September 3rd, 11.00 am), will be The Shaping Spirit of Imagination. The 11.00 am Communion will be on 10th September, and there will be a baptism on September 17th. The Harvest Festival will be on 1st October, a joint Parish Communion for both morning and evening congregations, followed by lunch in Trinity Hall. Please sign up.

Church Jobs: This is an updated list of who does what at St Edward's Thank you to everyone who helps keep the church running in one or more of these way. If you do a job in the church and I have left you off, I apologise; please remind me to put you on the next list. Thanks also to all the people who help as sidesmen, or with coffee, flower-arranging or bell-ringing, who I have not listed in full. Our sacristan, Carolyn Robson, will shortly be moving to London; is anyone interested in taking on this on? Fraser Watts

Treasurer: Geoff Barnes;
Gift Aid Officer: Derrick Hirst;
Finance Committee Chairman: Ruth Lynden-Bell;
Fabric Committee Chairman: Chris Walker;
Chapter Secretary, Archivist & Sidesmen Co-ordinator: Elizabeth Edwards;
Sacristan: Carolyn Robson:
Tower Captain: Alison Finn;
Cleaning & Altar Cloths: Marilyn Stanley;
Garden: Geoff Barnes & Pauline Skyrme-Jones;
Flower Co-ordinator: Brenda Deboys;
Sound-system; David Gillingham;
Flags: Steve Mastin;
Servers: David Gillingham;
Purificators: Freddie Hurlock;
Silver & Brass: Liz Walker;
Parish Lunches: Brenda Cole, Liz Walker & Diana Davis.
Newsletter distribution: Brenda & Alan Cole.
Electoral Roll: Clergy.

Healing: There will be laying on of hands for healing at 5.00 on Sunday 17th September.

Chapter: The next meeting is at 6.00 pm on Tuesday 26th September in Queens' College.

Chaplain's Letter

Last summer I set out the priorities that I hoped would guide my remaining years of ministry. One of them was this, `Music, dance and other arts can speak to the heart, not just the head, and the Church should make good use of them to lift the imagination and deepen spirituality. The words used in Church services should be resonant, and evocative of mystery.'

When I wrote that I did not know that Malcolm Guite would be joining us at St Edward's, but his presence with us helps to make a reality of that vision. Being a poet, as Malcolm is, involves the cultivation of a particular sensitivity to language, and I am delighted that he is offering such an interesting series of talks at St Edward's this autumn linking poetry, imagination and spirituality. It also helps to make a reality of that vision to have in Jesse Billett a churchwarden who is such a good singer and knows so much about liturgy.

Imagination and spirituality are closely linked. Many of the most important things in life are intangible, and understanding them requires a particularly deep and rich imagination. We have to be imaginative to understand other people; indeed it takes imagination even to understand ourselves. But relating to God, because he is unseen, depends to an exceptional degree on our imagination.

Some people think that being imaginative amounts to simply making things up, to pretending things are what we want them to be. In Dad's Army, Captain Mainwaring regularly complains about Private Pike being a `young boy with a vivid imagination', meaning that he has gone off on yet another fantasy trip. But imagination and fantasy are not the same thing, as Coleridge often pointed out. There is such a thing as a faithful imagination, that is able to go beyond the obvious, but stays faithful to reality. That is the kind of imagination we need in the religious life.

I believe very strongly in church services being resonant and evocative, in a way that lifts the heart and stirs the imagination. That is why music and poetry are so important. I hope we use them in a way that is helpful, and I would like to find ways of using the visual arts more fully in our worship too. Church services need to be multi-dimensional and to create a space in which sense the presence of God. I hope all our services do that in their different ways, whether or not they use the Book of Common Prayer.
Fraser Watts

Clergy: Revd. Dr. Fraser Watts (19, Grantchester Road, CB3 9ED; 359223, fnw1001@cam.ac.uk); Revd Dr Malcolm Guite (07841 506484, mg320@cam.ac.uk); Canon Alan Cole (892286, abc-73@tiscali.co.uk), Churchwardens: Dr. Elizabeth Edwards (313570, elizedwards@waitrose.com); Mr Jesse Billett (476751, jdb43@cam.ac.uk); Treasurer: Mr Geoffrey Barnes; (717757, Geoff.Barnes@cambridgeshire.gov.uk, Reader: Mr. Peter Marshall (564471)