St Edward King and Martyr
Peas Hill Cambridge CB2 3PP

SEPTEMBER 2007

SERVICES

2nd Trinity 13 16th Trinity 15
8.00 am Holy Communion 8.00 am Holy Communion
11.00 am Odyssey 11.00 am Holy Communion
Preacher Professor Morna Hooker Preacher Revd Dr Fraser Watts
5.00 pm Meditative Eucharist 5.00 pm Meditative Eucharist
Preacher Revd Dr Malcolm Guite Preacher Revd Dr Malcolm Guite
9th Trinity 14 23rd Trinity 16
8.00 am Holy Communion 8.00 am Holy Communion
11.00 am Holy Communion 11.00 am Mattins & Sermon
Preacher: Canon Alan Cole Preacher Revd Dr Fraser Watts
5.00 pm Meditative Eucharist 5.00 pm Meditative Eucharist
Preacher: Revd Dr Fraser Watts Preacher: Revd Dr Malcolm Guite
Fridays:
23rd Trinity 16
10.30 am Holy Communion 8.00 am Holy Communion
5.30 pm Meditation 11.00 am Harvest Parish Eucharist
Preacher: The Bishop of Ely

11.00 am READINGS


Theme Old Testament/Epistle New Testament/Gospel
2 Bible R Lynden-Bell tbc P Marshall tbc
9 What God Requires M Lee Micah 6. 1-8 B Cole Mark 10. 46-end
16 Trinity 15 A Finn Galatians 6. 11-end Chaplain Matthew 6. 24-end
23 Social Reformer G Barnes Amos 8.4-11 & 5.21-24 D Hirst Luke 16. 19-end
30 Harvest S Mastin Revelation 14. 14-18 Chaplain John 6. 25-35

 

Readers for September:

7 E Edwards & M Morris
14 J Adams & C Martin
21 B Cole & Chaplain
28 A Stacey & D Lynden-Bell

Odyssey: The preacher at Odyssey this month (September 2nd 11.00 am) will be Professor Morna Hooker,
formerly Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity in the University of Cambridge, and a great authority on the
New Testament. She will be speaking on ‘Use and Abuse of the Bible’.

Memorial Service for Phyllis Osbourn: Phyllis is remembered affectionately, and much missed, by all of us at St Edward’s. There will be a memorial service for her at 2.30 pm on Monday September 24th, at which we will be able to share our recollections, and give thanks for all she has meant to us.

Sunday Morning Sermons: On Sunday mornings, Fraser is preaching an occasional series of serrmons on the historical Jesus as a ground for faith. The remaining sermons are:
Sept 16th: Jesus the Sage, Sept 23rd: Jesus the Social Reformer, Oct 14th: Spirit-filled Jesus

Sunday Evening Sermons: On Sunday evenings in September, Malcolm will preach a series of sermons on ‘Gospel Elements’. There is an ancient tradition which understands all things to be made of four essential elements earth, air, water and fire. These four elements of the cosmos also had their corresponding elements in the human body and deep in the human psyche. Meditation on the meaning of the elements has been an important part of both Christian and pre-Christian spirituality, from Homer down to our own day, when TS Eliot organised his four quartets under the aegis of each element. This series of sermons will reflect on the role of each element in our understanding, expressing and living the mystery of our faith, and show how each element is taken up by Christ and made a blessing to us, so that we have a gospel of earth, a gospel of water, a gospel of air and a gospel of fire.
Sept 2nd: Air Sept 9th: Water Sept 16th: Earth Sept 23rd: Fire

Harvest: The Harvest Festival service, a joint Eucharist for morning and evening congregations, will be at 11.00 am on September 30th. The preacher will be the Bishop of Ely, who is a Past President of the Royal Agricultural Society. The service will be followed by lunch in Trinity Hall, for which all members of the congregation are invited to sign up (cost £3.00). There will be no evening service on that day.

Healing: There will be laying on of hands for healing at the 5.00 pm Eucharist on September 16th.

Holistic Spirituality Group: Regular meetings of the group, led by Malcolm, will resume on September 9th & 23rd. Sundays at 3.30 pm.

House Group: There will be a house group led by Malcolm, ‘Press Replay’, on three Monday evenings in September (10th, 17th & 24th) at 8.00 pm in St Mark’s Vicarage in Newnham. It is easy for the world of church and faith to become separated and hermetically sealed away from the everyday world, and the often dark and disturbing agenda of the daily news. This house group series will be an opportunity to replay the weeks press and media coverage in the light of the gospel and the mystery of faith. Every one will be encouraged to bring a headline or story that has depressed, elated, or disturbed them and share it with the group so that together we can re-establish the connections between church and world. All welcome.

Goth Eucharists: Goth Eucharists will resume on September 11th & 25th (Tuesdays at 8.45 pm). Malcolm will preach on ‘Veils and Faces’. Veiling and unveiling are key themes in the scripture as well as in the way we live. These two sermons will explore the theme of how God might be veiled to us, or we to one another and ourselves, and how we might dare to be unveiled and encounter ourselves and one another face to face.

Children of Abraham: On Wednesdays at 5.30 pm in October (starting Oct 3rd) there will be a series of talks on the three great world faiths that are heirs to Abraham: Jews, Christians and Muslims. It is increasingly clear that peace on our planet depends on people of different faiths being able to live together, and it is a crucial step towards that for us to understand one another better. The talks will be based on a series of books, ‘What do We Believe’, and the main speakers will be Zia Sardar, Ed Kessler & Malcolm Guite. Further details soon.

John Bell, well-known and inspirational member of the Iona Community, will be leading sessions at Ely Cathedral on Sept 15th & 16th. Further details on the church notice-board.

Chapter: The Chapter will meet at 6.30 pm on Monday September 24th in the Faculty of Divinity.

Chaplain’s Letter: A Global Warning?

It was challenging to hear Charles Elliott speak on world poverty in the August Odyssey. The outlook was bleak, but not hopeless. The old orthodoxy that unlimited growth is a cure-all, and we can spend our way out of anything has failed the rich as well as the poor and Elliott seemed convinced that, even if we don’t see sense and forsake rampant consumerism for a simpler and ultimately more fulfilling way of life, global warming will see sense for us and put an end to our consumer life-styles, whether we like it or not. In the discussion afterwards it became clear that we need not simply new economic policies, new bio-fuels, or new trade agreements with developing nations, we need a whole new perspective on life, a change in consciousness, a desire to live simply that others may simply live, a joy in small things, a new valuing of time, relationship and community. And where is this new way of living this new vision of the good life going to come from? Only from spiritual roots, from a renewed spirituality which is willing to re-discover the wise ways of living of a pre-consumer age.
St. Edward’s is, for many people, a place of spiritual renewal, a sacred space, an arena for reflection and deepening. But perhaps St. Edward’s can become more than just a personal resource for an inner journey, perhaps we can begin together to make the connections between our spiritual life and the radical changes we all need to make to avert ecological disaster and see a fairer distribution of wealth and resources. Can we begin a conversation with each other at St. Edwards about the small and simple changes of life-style which, together, might start to make a difference? I know that many people at St. Edwards are already trying to live more lightly, but also more joyfully, on the planet. Can we pool our resources and share our ideas? I hope so.
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, stephenjamesmastin@yahoo.com).Treasurer: Mr Geoffrey Barnes; (717757, Geoff.Barnes@cambridgeshire.gov.uk). Reader: Mr. Peter Marshall (564471). Church phone: 362004.