As we continue in the seasonal joy of Easter we are invited to reflect on one of the “I AM” sayings of Jesus in John’s gospel. There are 7 different ways in which Jesus describes himself by using the words “I AM”.  The last one of these is “I AM the vine” as Jesus speaks with his friends about what his life is about and will be about for them and others. It is a powerful image of connection. The fruit that we see on vines, be them beautiful to look at or good to eat are dependant on being attached to the vine. Jesus asks us to consider how we each flourish, and what it is that connects us and nourishes our lives. 

A way of connecting, is our worship when we come together to give thanks for God and the life and love that we can know through God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Cafe Church is back this weekend at All Saints at 10.30am, with a chance to have some more informal time together, studying and discussing the biblical themes in the Book of Samuel. If you haven’t been to Cafe Church before then it is a great way to get to know people better, to learn together and from each other as well as to have what my kids call “Second Breakfast!”.

All Saints also have a quiet and short communion at 8am and St Marys has a sung Communion at 10am.

 

This Sunday 28^th April 2024

 

8am – Said Communion – All Saints

 

10am – Sung Communion – St Marys

 

10.30am – Cafe Church – All Saints

 

The Week Ahead

Tuesday 30th April 10:30am – M4T

Weds 1st May 9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer – All Saints

Thursday 2nd May 10:00am – Holy Communion – St. Mary’s

Friday 3rd May 10:00am – ‘Living After Loss’ Group – St. Mary’s

Saturday 4th May 10:00am – Coffee Morning Repair Café – All Saints

12.00 – 2:00pm – Saturday Lunches – St Marys

Sunday 5th May 

10:00am – Creative Church – St Marys

10:30am – Holy Communion and Junior Church – All Saints

 6:30pm – Evensong – St. Mary’s

Malcolm Guite’s poems bring me a huge amount of joy and Christian spiritual nourishment, so I commend the following to you all. Looking forward to worshipping with you this weekend.

 

I AM the Vine

How might it feel to be part of the vine?

Not just to see the vineyard from afar

Or even to pluck the clusters, press the wine,

but to be grafted in, to feel the stir

Of inward sap that rises from our root,

Himself deep planted in the ground of ove,

To feel a leaf unfold a tender shoot,

As tendrils curled unfurl, as branches give

A little to the swelling of the grape,

In gradual perfection, round and full,

To bear within oneself the joy and hope

Of God’s good vintage, till its ripe and whole.

What might it mean to bide and to abide

In such rich love as makes the poor heart glad?

 

Blessings

Revd Lizzie

The apostle John is depicted in Eastern Christian art as an old man. His words radiate the wisdom of years. He himself witnessed to Jesus’ love in action at first hand He has seen, heard and touched the Word of life (1 John 1.1). John wrote the words we find at 1 John 3:18 as a wise and gentle pastor to his flock, the early church. He cares for them just like his friend and teacher Jesus would. Calling them “Little children” is not meant to belittle, but to underscore his role as their mentor. He hopes his message will give them the courage they need to put love into action and to speak and follow the truth.

Words and speeches are in abundance in the run up to our elections for local councillors and an Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner. There have been flyers through doors and conversations with candidates on our doorsteps. In order to vote wisely, it is good to find out as much as we can. The colour of the rosette they wear is not as important as the experience and commitment they offer. Is this person the most likely to make the wards of Eastville and Fromevale safer, happier, more pleasant and friendly neighbourhoods to live in? What do their actions tell you about their commitment to the wellbeing of residents?  Do they make a point of listening to young, middle-aged and older people? Do they know and value faith communities? As Christians we need to discern which of their proposals we consider the most Jesus-shaped. Because with them we will be playing our part in making Fishponds a place where people love their neighbours in truth and action more and more. 

The apostle John is not naïve about the cost of being a good neighbour. ‘Laying down our lives’ each day, means taking the time to learn about people’s struggles, letting go of some of what we want, in order that others can receive what they desperately need. Members and volunteers of our churches are at the very heart of this courageous work across all ages.

The great news is that the love of Jesus is open to all. May God help us at St.Mary’s and All Saints to offer open doors and open hearts in welcome.  May we use our time and buildings wisely to serve people lovingly, and to worship in the name of Jesus Christ, our living Lord,

Services this Sunday

 

St Mary’s  – 10.00  – Sung Eucharist

All Saints – 10.30  – Holy Communion with Hymns

 

Events in the week ahead

Monday 22^nd – 10.30 – All Saints – Tiny Tots

Tuesday 23^rd – 10.30 – St.Mary’s – Music for Toddlers

Wednesday 24^th – 9.00 – All Saints – Celtic Prayers

Thursday 25^th – 10.00 – St.Mary’s – Holy Communion

Saturday 27^th – 12.00 – St.Mary’s – Saturday Lunches

Services next Sunday 28^th April

08.00 – All Saints – Holy Communion

10.00 – St.Mary’s – Sung Eucharist

10.30 – All Saints – Café Church

 

COLLECT for the Fourth Sunday of Easter

 

Risen Christ,

faithful shepherd of your Father’s sheep:

teach us to hear your voice

and to follow your command,

that all your people may be gathered into one flock,

to the glory of God the Father.

 

 

May our heavenly Father hold us secure in his love,

Jesus our Good Shepherd lead us into new pastures

and the Holy Spirit help us hear God’s voice above the clamour. Amen

 

In election season and always. 

 

Revd Diane, assistant curate, St Mary and All Saints Fishponds.

Jesus Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed!! Alleluia! Alleluia!

The earliness of Easter this year has tied in with the joy of the stirrings of Spring. The themes of new life and rebirth are perfectly illustrated by what we can see around us as nature seems to wake up and we can feel the vibrancy of spring in the air. 

This very action surrounds us with beautiful transformation. The longer days, feeling of warmth and the sight of blossom give us real joy after the darkness and cold of winter. It is the very essence of new life, rebirth, creation and recreation,  a tangible signpost to the greater transformation and resurrection of Jesus. 

Nature has not vanished, but has subdued itself, become hidden. Now it is re-emerging. The working out of nature directs us to God and this rebirth of Jesus, helping us to process it and recognise it, placing it within the natural world but at the same time  emphasising that it is beyond the natural world-like Jesus himself there is the natural and the divine.

In Sunday’s Gospel reading from Luke we encounter a very present, very physical Jesus. He encourages the disciples to touch him to verify his physicality. This is the Jesus of creation, physical like the physical world around us. Yet his body is  changed. To underline his physicality he eats with them. This is our embodied Jesus, human and divine, and his divinity shines forth when he teaches the disciples about the meaning of his Messiahship and all that they have experienced.

Our services this Sunday, the 3^rd Sunday of Easter:

8.00  – Holy Communion at All Saints

10.00 – Holy Communion at St. Marys

10.30 – Messy Muddy Church at All Saints

19.15 – Generations Youth Group at All Saints

The Week Ahead

Monday 15th April.

10.30  Tiny Tots All Saints

Wednesday 17th April 

9.00 Celtic Morning Prayer All Saints

Thursday 18th April

10.00 Holy Communion St. Marys

Friday 19th April

11.00. Living after Loss. St. Marys 

Saturday 20th April

12.00 Saturday Lunches  St. Marys 

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore. Amen

Blessings

Revd Kester de Oliveira

 

This Sunday’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 4.32–35) paints a beautiful picture of the early church. All the believers worked together for the common good and supported the apostles in their preaching of the gospel. This was not an easy time for the church. In the passage before this one, Peter and John had been arrested for teaching about Jesus. Yet the apostles refused to be silenced. They remembered the words of Psalm 2, where God defended his anointed against the rulers of the earth. This encouraged the early church to continue to live as a loving and supportive community and to tell everyone about Jesus.

 

Although we know that it was not long before disagreements spoilt the harmony in the church, this picture of a community remains one that we can aspire to. Being grounded in scripture, caring for and supporting one another and telling those we meet about Jesus are at the heart of what it means to be the Church. As church communities, we need to look for ways we can get closer to this pattern, which Luke presents in Acts.

 

This Sunday, we have our usual services for the first Sunday of the month. There is creative church in the morning at St Mary’s and Holy Communion at All Saints. There is also Evensong in the evening at St Mary’s.

10.00 am – St Mary’s – Creative Church

10.30 am – All Saints – Holy Communion with Junior Church

6.30 pm – St Mary’s – Evensong

We have our usual weekday services with Celtic Morning Prayer on Wednesday at All Saints and Holy Communion on Thursday at St Mary’s. Next Sunday follows our usual pattern for the second Sunday of the month. There is Holy Communion at 8.00 am at All Saints and 10.00 am at St Mary’s. The 10.30 am service at All Saints will be Messy/Muddy Church.

 

Wednesday 10^th – 9.00 am – All Saints – Celtic Morning Prayer

Thursday 11^th – 10.00 am – St Mary’s – Holy Communion

Sunday 14^th

8.00 am – All Saints – Holy Communion (said)

10.00 am – St Mary’s – Holy Communion

10.30 am – All Saints – Messy/Muddy Church

 

As we continue to celebrate the resurrection over the weeks of the Easter season, let us pray for Christ to open our hearts to follow him using the words of the collect for Sunday.

 

Risen Christ,

for whom no door is locked, no entrance barred:

open the doors of our hearts,

that we may seek the good of others

and walk the joyful road of sacrifice and peace,

to the praise of God the Father.

Yours in Christ

 

Mark

This Holy Week we have walked, prayed, sung and reenacted together the journey of Jesus from Palm Sunday to Good Friday. This weekend we celebrate the Risen Jesus in our Easter Celebrations. It is through our Easter Faith, that we come to know the love of God and the hope for the world. It is in the Easter faith that our sorrows are turned to joy. It is in the Easter Faith that we believe God conquered death and brought us all to resurrection life. It is a promise outpoured for the world, and a truth on which we come to depend and understand our lives. The empty tomb declares that “He is Risen”. Mary meeting Jesus in the garden reminds us that we are all known by name. As we celebrate this weekend together, may we be reassured, strengthened and brought hope so that we might also live that new life in Christ.

Join us at All Saints and St Marys for our services this weekend to celebrate.

Easter Saturday 

7.30pm – Easter Vigil and First Holy Communion and Celebrations – St Marys

Easter Sunday

8.00am – BCP Easter Holy Communion – All Saints

10.00am – All Age Easter Holy Communion – St Marys

10.30am – All Age Easter Holy Communion – All Saints

6.30pm – Easter Choral Evensong – St Marys

This Week

Wednesday 3rd April 9.00am – Celtic Morning Prayer  – All Saints  

Thursday 4th April          10am Holy Communion – St Marys  

Saturday 6th April 10.00 – 12.00 – Coffee Morning & Repair Cafe – All Saints

                    12.00 – 2pm –Saturday Lunches  – St Marys  

Sunday 7th April      10am Creative Church – St Marys 

10.30am Holy Communion with Band – All Saints 

18.30 Evensong  – St Marys

 

​

“Christ Yesterday and today, the beginning and the end, Alpha and Omega, all time belongs to him, and all ages”

 

HAPPY EASTER 🙂

 

Revd Lizzie

It hardly seems possible that the reflective time of Lent has reached its climactic destination in the drama of Holy Week. The early occurrence of Lent this year has created a rapidity that has felt like a rush from Christmas and its culmination in Epiphany to the start of Lent. The contrast is pronounced, yet the periods of Advent and Lent are both times of reflection, prayer, study. But the contrast in nature is profound.

Advent is an oasis  of calm within the whirlwind of the lead up to Christmas. It is  a counter to the pressures that the world exerts at the time. Lent, however, defines the approach to Easter. It’s  a time of sombreness as opposed to the energised anticipation of Advent. Its shadow is present in the world with the practices of giving things up for Lent, but the approach to Easter in the world  is only marked by the appearance of Easter eggs and hot cross buns on the supermarket shelves.

But for us that Lenten process has prepared the way for the dramatic unfolding of Holy week, starting with Palm Sunday and its symbolic recreation of the palm procession welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem. We stand outside our churches and walk  in procession with songs, remembering that joyful event that was loaded with such meaning and hope. But as we do so we are also mindful of the swift transformation of this, the euphoria that will be replaced with the events that lead up to the crucifixion, the dark time of pain, rejection, misery, and a seemingly crushing defeat. 

But this is far from being the whole story. Whilst this needs to be marked, reflected upon, and experienced in the depth of the pain and suffering that Jesus underwent, it is utterly changed by the events of Easter  Day, the ecstatic joy of the resurrection and the fulfilment beyond all expectations of the salvific mission of the love of God embodied through the life and person of Jesus.

I encourage you to experience the richness of Holy week. There are a variety of services and opportunities to come together as a worshipping community that offer times to worship, reflect and rejoice.

The services for this Sunday and the week ahead.

Sunday 24 March (Palm Sunday)

08.00 Said Holy Communion (All Saints)

10.00 Palm Sunday & Holy Communion (St Marys)

10.30 Palm Procession & Passion Drama All Saints)

The Week Ahead

 

Monday 26th

10.30 Tiny Tots (All Saints)

19.30 Compline (All Saints)

Tuesday 27th

19.30 Compline (St. Mary’s)

Wednesday 27th

09.00 Celtic Morning Prayer (All Saints)

19.30 Compline (All Saints)

Thursday 28^th – Maundy Thursday

18.30 Agape Meal & Eucharist (All Saints)

19.30 Holy Communion, washing of feet  & Vigil (St. Mary’s)       

Friday 29^th  – Good Friday

10.00 All Saints Children’s Activities & Story

13.30 Good Friday Service (St. Mary’s)

 14.00 All Saints Last Hour

Saturday 30^th March – Easter Eve

12.00-14.00 Saturday Lunches (St. Mary’s)

19.30 Holy Communion & Vigil with Celebrations (St. Mary’s)

Sunday 31^st March – Easter Day

08.00 BCP Said Holy Communion (All Saints)

10.00 All Age Sung Easter Communion (St. Mary’s)

 10.30 All Age Easter Communion (All Saints)

 18.30 Easter Evensong (St. Mary’s)

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore. Amen

 

Blessings

 

Revd Kester de Oliveira

This Sunday, we turn away from the joyful thanksgiving of Mothering Sunday and towards the events of Holy Week. The season is often referred to as Passiontide, from the Latin passio, meaning suffering. It is a time to reflect on Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion, and death. In the early church, many Christians struggled with the idea that an almighty and perfect God could suffer and die in the way that Jesus did. Yet through the debates and discussions that followed, the church fathers came to the realization that perfection is not about standing aloof from the sufferings of the world. Jesus was born into the world to be with humanity and to identify with us in our joy and our sorrow. It is when we remember Christ’s suffering, that we know we are not alone in anything that we go through. God can understand our fears and temptations, recognize our pains and our sufferings, because, in Christ, he has been there before us. He has led the way and can lead us through the worst that the world can throw at us.

This Sunday, we have several services, where we can reflect further on this. In the morning there are services of Holy Communion at both St Mary’s at 10.00 and All Saints at 10.30. In the evening, there is a service of readings and music for Passiontide at St Mary’s. This gives the following services for this Sunday:

10.00 am	St Mary’s	Holy Communion
10.30 am	All Saints	Holy Communion
6.30 pm	St Mary’s	Music and readings for Passiontide

This week we have our normal weekday services with Celtic Morning Prayer at All Saints on Wednesday and Holy Communion at St Mary’s on Thursday.

Next Sunday, we start Holy Week with our Palm Sunday celebrations. There is Holy Communion at 8.00 am at All Saints and 10.00 am at St Mary’s. The 10.30 service at All Saints will be a Service of the Word with a procession round the local streets and a Palm Sunday drama.

This gives the following services for the coming week:

Wednesday 20th	9.00 am	All Saints	Celtic morning prayer
Thursday 21st	10.00 am	St Mary’s	Holy Communion
Sunday 24th	8.00 am	All Saints	Holy Communion
	10.00 am	St Mary’s	Holy Communion
	10.30 am	All Saints	Service of the Word with procession and drama

As we approach Holy Week led us pray that God will guide us in our reflections on Jesus’ road to Jerusalem and Calvary:

Gracious Father, you gave up your Son out of love for the world: lead us to ponder the mysteries of his passion, that we may know eternal peace through the shedding of our Saviour’s blood, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yours in Christ

Mark

This Sunday acts as a pivot point in Lent, as we come together for Mothering Sunday in different ways. It is a day that has different depths and meanings for people. It is often a moment of celebration, thanksgiving and joy. It can also be a day tinged in sadness. For many it holds both these things simultaneously. The gospel reading might seem odd at first, as Jesus speaks from the Cross. Jesus invites his friend John and his mother Mary to be each other’s family. To reach across to each other in their grief and sadness and find the love and cherishing that is needed at that moment. It is a breaking and a remaking. It is a despite all odds a life-giving moment. What does it mean to be a family? That is a question that Jesus is often asking us. Who is my mother and my sister and my brother? 

As we come together in different ways to celebrate being the family of God may we hold each other in all of these moments and know that we are loved and cherished by God and each other.

This Sunday we have:

8am – Holy Communion – All Saints

10am – All Age Communion – St Mary’s

10.30am – All Age Mothering Sunday Service with Activities for Children  – All Saints

7.15pm – Generations Youth 11+  – St Mary’s

The week ahead (Please note the change of evening for one of our Lent Groups)

THE WEEK AHEAD 

Monday 11^th

10.30am – Tiny Tots – All Saints 

Tuesday 12^th

10.30am – Music for Toddlers – St Mary’s 

7.30pm – Lent Group – All Saints

Wednesday 13^th

9.00am – Celtic Morning Prayer – All Saints 

2.00pm – Lent Group – St Mary’s Parish Room 

Thursday 14^th

10.00pm – Eucharist – St Mary’s 

Saturday 16^th

12.00pm-2.00pm – Saturday Lunches at St Mary’s Church 

Sunday 17^rd

10.00am – Sung Holy Communion  St Mary’s 

10.30am – Holy Communion with Hymns – All Saints 

6:30pm – Passiontide readings and Music – St Mary’s 

God of love, passionate and strong, tender and careful: watch over us and hold us all the days of our life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

As we hit a half-way point in Lent we are asked to consider some words from St Paul’s letter to the Church in Corinth. Corinth’s emerging Christian Community was a diverse group of people, who with different backgrounds and experiences tried to live together, learn together and pray together. There were times when that was really challenging. Yet Paul reminded them that the way of Jesus was one that was founded on the challenge of the cross. A place of death, of failure, of seeming end. He named it “foolish”. It was not a message that had neat answers, or clever words. It was not a place that relied on success and power. It’s very power was in its willingness to offer a different way of seeing the world. A different way of being. One that required love and sacrifice. One that turned power and status on its head. One that told people that everyone was worthy and equal in the eyes of God who knew the brutal way of the world, and of calvary. I have always found those words the “foolishness of the cross” steady companions at different times in life and especially in Lent. They allow me to be grateful that God was humble, gracious, human and welcomed folly. That the road to resurrection and new life did not hide or flinch from death – but embraced it for the sake of all people. 

In that way we continue our reflections and worship together in Lent in the following ways this weekend.

SUNDAY 3^rd MARCH – LENT 3

10am – Creative Church – St Mary’s – Lent theme

10.30am – Holy Communion with Junior Church and Band – All Saints

6.30pm – Evensong – St Mary’s.

THE WEEK AHEAD 

Tuesday 5^th -10.30am Music for Toddlers – St Mary’s 

Wednesday 6^th  – 9am  Celtic Morning Prayer – All Saints 

2pm Lent Group – St Mary’s Parish Room 

7.30pm Lent Group All Saints – Link Room 

Thursday 7th 10am Eucharist – St Mary’s 

Friday 8^th -12.30pm – Concert 

Saturday 9^th – 12pm -2pm – Saturday Lunches – St Mary’s 

Sunday 10^th – 8am Holy Communion – All Saints 

10am Mothering Sunday All Age Communion Service – St Mary’s 

10.30am – Mothering Sunday Creative Service of the Word- All Saints 

7.15pm Generations  – Aged 11+ Youth Gathering – St Mary’s 

Blessings

Revd Lizzie

As we come to the second Sunday in Lent our texts this week centre on the very Lenten theme of the promise and the cost of faith. Abraham receives a covenant-a promise-that will utterly transform his life and that of his wife, family and descendants. The transformation is so radical that it even changes their names. The promise is huge-that from him and Sarai there will be numberless descendants. And the promise made to them by God is everlasting, unending.

Yet as we reflect on this in this Lenten period that is of necessity shaped by world events, how do we view this? What we need to see is the promise of God that is everlasting and the faithful response from Abraham, and this is the theme that links the texts.

The letter to the Romans emphasises Abraham’s faith which is counted as righteousness. It is not the obeying of the law that has done this, even though that in itself served a purpose, but that purpose has been fulfilled in the divine person of Jesus Christ.

The promise of God reaches its fulfilment in Jesus, but Jesus himself makes it very clear that following him is costly. His message in Mark is clear and uncompromising. Peter, in his enthusiasm and his love of his friend and leader, does his usual thing and leaps in to promise that what Jesus has prophesied will not happen, earning. the sharp rebuke ‘get behind me Satan’. This seems excessive perhaps but Jesus here is focused on what must come, the reason he incarnated at that time and in that place. He warns that those who seek an easier way of life, those who may be sympathetic to him but cannot-or will not-make the sacrifices to truly serve him will lose everything, whilst in a customarily Christ-style paradox, those who have given up everything for him will gain everything. Once again, the eternal promises of God are given, this time through God’s Son-Jesus. 

The text from Mark is a firm reminder that Jesus had a purpose-a divine one- and that when needed he was firm. He was still the manifestation of Godly love, but this is tempered with a developed sense of divine purpose that also links in with his humanity and all its complexities. He is firm, he is challenging, he rebukes, but all is done out of love, a love of God and humanity that wants to see the chain of divine promise that started with the covenant between Abraham and God continue into this new covenant that expands the realm of God’s people to include everyone, unlimited by race, geography, gender or any other social construct. An unlimited love which is the very definition of God.

The services and activities for the week ahead.

Sunday 25th February 2024 

 Lent 2  

8.00 am           Holy Communion – All Saints 

10.00 am          Sung Holy Communion – St Mary’s 

10.30 am          Cafe Church – All Saints  

THE WEEK AHEAD 

Monday 26th               8.00 pm   Celtic Evening Prayer – All Saints 

Tuesday 27th               10.30 am  Music for Toddlers – St Mary’s 

Wednesday 28th        9.00 am  Celtic Morning Prayer – All Saints 

2.00 pm  Lent Group – St Mary’s (Parish Room) 

7:30 pm   Lent Group – All Saints (Link Room) 

Thursday 29th             10.00 am   Eucharist – St Mary’s 

Saturday 2nd March    12.00-2.00 pm Saturday Lunches – St Mary’s

Sunday 3rd March       10.00 am Creative Church  – “Lent” – St Mary’s

10.30 am Holy Communion with Band and Junior Church – All Saints 

6:30 pm Sung Evensong – St Mary’s 

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore. Amen

Blessings

Rev’d Kester de Oliveira