This Sunday is the start of Passiontide, and our attention is fixed even more firmly on Holy Week and the suffering or passion of Jesus. Our Old Testament reading tells of Ezekiel’s vision of a valley of dry bones being brought back to life. Our New Testament reading is the story of Jesus bringing his friend, Lazarus, back to life. Both these stories point forwards to Easter and Jesus’ resurrection.

However, to look at these stories as merely a pointer, is to miss the richness and depth of what each of these these stories have to say to us.

Ezekiel’s vision is a message of hope for a people feeling rejected and downtrodden. In the despair of Israel’s exile in Babylon, God spoke to the people of restoration. This was not just a restoration of their land, but also a restoration of their spirit. But above all it was a restoration of their trust in God.

At the heart of John’s telling of the story of Jesus and Lazarus is Jesus’ declaration “I am the resurrection and the life”. It is in Jesus that we get the new life that we long for. That life is more than just bringing a a dead person back to the life that they knew before. It is a life that gives us the hope that the pain and suffering in the world can and will be overcome. It is a hope that even death itself has been defeated.

We will have more opportunities to reflect on this in or communion services at 8.00 am at All Saints and at 10.00 at St Mary’s. The 10.30 am service at All Saints is our monthly café service, where we will continue our discussions around the creed. This week we will be thinking about the church and what it means to believe in the church. At 6.30 pm there is a service of Passiontide music and readings at St Mary’s.

This gives the following services for this Sunday 22nd March:

8.00 am		All Saints	Holy Communion (said)
10.00 am		St Mary’s	Holy Communion
10.30 am		All Saints	Café Church
6.30 pm		St Mary’s	Passiontide music and readings

In the coming week we have our usual midweek services. Next Sunday is Palm Sunday. As such, there will not be a benefice service. St All Saints and St Mary’s will each have their own services for Palm Sunday at the usual times. However, there will be service of Holy Communion at 8.00 am at All Saints. In addition, our Lent groups will continue on Tuesday evening and Wednesday afternoon. This gives the following services for the coming week:

Tuesday 24th March	7.30 pm		Vicarage	Lent group
Wednesday 25th March	9.00 am		All Saints	Celtic morning prayer
	2.00 pm		St Mary’s parish rooms	Lent group
Thursday 26th March	10.00 am		St Mary’s	Holy Communion
Sunday 29th March	8.00 am		All Saints	Holy Communion (said)
	10.00 am		St Mary’s	Holy Comunion
	10.30 am		All Saints	Holy Communion

As we continue our journey towards Holy Week and Easter, let us pray for the guidance and strength of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives.

Yours in Christ

Mark