They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

Dear All Saints and St Mary’s

This Lent we are reflecting on some of the “Holy Habits” that Luke mentions in his description of the early church. Andrew Roberts picked out ten things that the early church did that can help us to walk in the way of Christ during our day to day lives. Each of our Lent group sessions takes a bible passage and looks at how it helps us with one or more of these habits. As we reach the halfway point in Lent, we have looked at reading the bible, serving, sharing resources, and eating together. This week we will be looking at prayer in the light of the Lord’s prayer, which Jesus gives in Luke 11.1–4.

But Holy Habits are not just something for Lent. Regular prayer, bible reading, and worship build our faith all year round. Fellowship and eating together build our community every time we meet. Generosity and service flow out from the love of God whenever we see the needs of the world. Sharing the good news of Christ is rooted in our belief that it is good news for all people. These are things that were part of the early church that Luke described, and which build and support our faith and mission.

This Sunday we have our usual second Sunday services as follows:

8.00 am – All Saints – Holy Communion (said)

10.00 am – St Mary’s – Holy Communion

10.30 am – All Saints – Messy/Muddy Church

Along with our Lent groups, we have our usual midweek services. Next Sunday is Mothering Sunday, with Holy Communion at All Saints and a Service of the Word with Baptism at St Mary’s. This gives us the following for the coming week:

Tuesday 14^th – 7.30 pm – Lent Group

Wednesday 15^th – 9.00 am – All Saints – Celtic morning prayer

2.00 pm – Lent group

Thursday 16^th – 10.00 am – St Mary’s – Holy Communion

Sunday 19^th – 10.00 am – St Mary’s – Service of the Word with Baptism

10.30 am – All Saints – Holy Communion

As we continue our Lenten journey, let us pray for God’s guidance in the words of this Sunday’s collect:

Eternal God, give us insight to discern your will for us, to give up what harms us, and to seek the perfection we are promised in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen

May God bless and keep us all.

Mark

Light and Dark

We have some truly great people of the Bible to help deepen our faith in the readings set for the time of Lent. This week we hear about Abram (Abraham) in the Old Testament and then we listen to the encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus. Nicodemus comes at night, to meet Jesus, who is the light. They have a baffling conversation that leaves Nicodemus no closer to any answers to his questions. No cheap or quick assurances are given to Nicodemus. Jesus lets him experience what the light looks like. Jesus lets him choose. We get to choose too. No one is compelled to believe, but everyone is invited.

This week we worship in a different ways across the churches

10am – Creative/Open Church – St Marys – Theme Joy – Open Church Team

10.30 – Sung Holy Communion with Junior Church – Revd Lizzie

6.30pm – Evensong – St Marys – Revd Lizzie

THE WEEK AHEAD

• Tuesday 7^th March
  • 19.30-21.00 – Lent Group 1
• Wednesday 8^st March
  • 9.00am – Celtic Morning Prayer – All Saints
  • 14.00-15-30 – Lent Group 2
• Thursday 9^nd March
  • 10am – Holy Communion at St Mary’s Church
• Saturday 11th March
  • 12.00 – 2pm – Saturday Lunches – St Marys
• Sunday 12^th March
  • 10am – Sung Holy Communion
  • 10.30am – Muddy Messy Church – All Saints
  • 7.15pm – Generations

This week I have been reflecting on a book of poems in a book called “Hearing God in Poetry” by Richard Harris. One of the poems is written by Dietrich Bonhoffer who agonises about his identity when he is imprisoned, awaiting his execution, in Nazi Germany. He dwells deeply on what he is and has become and would like to be again and ends his poem with these words

“Who am I? They mock me these lonely questions of mine. Whoever I am thou knowest, O God, I am thine”

Bonhoffer despite his questions chooses the light.

Blessings for this weekend and the week to come

Revd Lizzie

In the church, the season of Lent has traditionally been a time of reflection and self-examination. We are encouraged to spend a little time thinking about where we are in our faith and where God might be leading us. As individuals, as church communities and as a society, we wander away from God and the path he wants us to follow. A little reflection can help us notice where we have strayed, how we might get back on the right path and how we can do better at staying on it.

In our Lent groups, are looking at some “holy habits” that can help us follow Jesus as individuals and as a church community. These holy habits are based on the description of the early church that Luke gives in the Acts of the Apostles. Last week we looked at learning from the bible in the light of Jesus use of scripture in the desert. This week we will be looking at serving and gladness and generosity in the light of Jesus description of his mission when he was in the synagogue at Nazareth. All are welcome, whether you managed to get to the first session or not.

This Sunday, at our café service, we start our dive into the book of Jonah. Jonah was called by God to go speak to the people of Nineveh. However, he decided to go in the opposite direction. In a similar way, Matthew tells us of a story Jesus told about a father with two sons. He asked both to work in the family vineyard. One said he would but didn’t, but the other said he wouldn’t but did. In the light of these stories, how can we be sure what God wants us to do? How do we react when we are not comfortable with what God wants? In addition to our usual discussion around tables, Diane will be running an activity for children aged between seven and twelve.

In addition to the café service, we also have communion at 8.00am at All Saints and at 10.00am at St Mary’s. this gives the following services for this Sunday, 26^th February:

8.00 am	All Saints	Holy Communion (said)
10.00 am	St Mary’s	Holy Communion
10.30 am	All Saints	Café service

Along with our Lent groups, and in addition to our normal pattern of weekday services for the coming week, there is the World Day of Prayer on Thursday at All Saints. Next Sunday, there are the usual services for the first Sunday of the month, with creative/open church at St Mary’s and Holy Communion at All Saints. This gives the following for the coming week:

Tuesday 28th February	7.30 pm		Lent group
Wednesday 1st March	9.00 am	All Saints	Celtic morning prayer
Wednesday 1st March	2.00 pm		Lent group
Thursday 2nd March	10.00 am	St Mary’s	Holy Communion
Friday 3rd March	2.00 pm	All Saints	World Day of Prayer
Sunday 5th March	10.00 am	St Mary’s	Open/Creative church
	10.30 am	All Saints	Holy Communion
	6:30 pm	St Mary’s	Evensong

As we use these opportunities to reflect on God’s call to us and the path that he wants us to follow, let us pray for his strength, wisdom, and courage to discern and follow Christ in the words of the collect for this Sunday:

Heavenly Father,

your son battled with the powers of darkness,

and grew closer to you in the desert:

help us to use these days to grow in wisdom and prayer

that we may witness to your saving love

in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

May God bless and keep us all.

Mark

Lent is fast approaching, as Valentines Day passes and the February half term comes to an end we enter into a different season and rhythm of life in the church. The last Sunday before lent traditionally comes with the reading of the Transfiguration. A moment in Jesus life which is recalled in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Jesus is seen by his disciples in a new and different way, it is a heavenly moment of the hope glimpsed by a few of the disciples with Jesus. It is a hope which is set before all of us, and a moment of glory that carries us into Lent, a time when we travel with Jesus thought his Journey to the Cross and beyond. I pray that we will all have moments in the coming days when we get to glimpse the glory of God.

This weekend on Sunday 19^th February the following services of worship are taking place across the Benefice

10.00 am – Sung Holy Communion with Baptism – St Marys

10.30am – Sung Holy Communion – All Saints

There will also be on Ash Wednesday 22^nd Feb

10am – Holy Communion with imposition of Ashes – St Marys

Also this week there will be Lent Groups starting this week coming on Tuesday 21^st at 7.30pm and Wednesday 22^nd at 2pm– please see the weekly sheets for contact details. If you are looking for an evening service of Holy Communion with imposition of Ashes then Bristol Cathedral have a service at 18.00 on Wednesday 22^nd Feb.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Tuesday 21^st 7.30pm – 9pm Lent Group

Wednesday 22nd Feb 9.00am – Celtic Morning Prayer – All Saints

10.am Ash Wednesday Communion St Marys

2pm – 3.30pm – Lent Group

Thursday 23rd Feb NO COMMUNION

Saturday 25^th 12.00 – 2pm – Saturday Lunches

Sunday 26^th Feb 8am Holy Communion – All Saints

10am – Sung Holy Communion St Marys

10.30am – Café Church All Saints

Christ Over Me, Christ Under Me, Christ Beside Me

Every Wednesday we gather at All Saints for a short time of prayer, bible readings and reflections. We use the Celtic Morning Prayer service that the Northumbrian Community at Iona developed. One of the prayers that we use is a Prayer of St Patrick, which is

Christ as a light illumine and guide me, Christ as a shield overshadow me, Christ under me, Christ over me, Christ beside me on my left and my right. This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all powerful. Be in the heart of each who speaks unto me. This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all powerful. Christ as a light, Christ as a shield, Christ beside me on my left and my right.

It is a prayer that is all encompassing, a prayer that looks to God as a source of ultimate protection and blessing. It is a prayer of dependence on God.

In this weeks reading we are invited by St Matthew into some of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. It is an invitation to not worry about the things of life and to look to God. That can seem harsh and glib potentially in a world where weekly war and natural disaster inflict huge sufferings on humanity. People need food, water, shelter, clothes and medicine. To not worry about where these “things” may come from would be odd? Yet they do come. The call on the world for help, the call on our hearts from those who can, mean some of those needs being met.

Is that God providing? Or is it people responding? Or is it God’s people in this instance responding to the need of God’s people? Perhaps it is hard to separate where God’s response starts and the action of Gods people begins. I suspect they overlap, under and over, left and right, within and without as St Patrick prayed.

This week Messy Muddy Church meet at All Saints for worship at 10.30 – its a great time of creative and exploratory worship together. Bring your journey prayer stick from last time, or grab another one and join the fun.

WORSHIP THIS WEEKEND – 12^th FEBRUARY 2023

• 8am – Holy Communion – All Saints – Revd Lizzie
• 10am – Sung Holy Communion – St Marys – Revd Lizzie
• 10.30am – Muddy Messy Church – All Saints – Muddy Church Team
• 7.15pm – Generations – All Saints

THE WEEK AHEAD

• Wednesday 15^st Feb 9.00am – Celtic Morning Prayer – All Saints
• Thursday 16^th Feb 10am – Holy Communion at St Mary’s Church
• Saturday 18^th 12.00 – 2pm – Saturday Lunches
• Sunday 19^th Feb
  • 10am – Sung Holy Communion with Baptism at St Marys
  • 10.30am – Sung Holy Communion All Saints – Revd Susan Allman

May the world know Gods protection and abundant love and care

Lizzie

I am beyond excited about the celebration of the Feast of Candlemas this weekend. For me it is the heady mix of brilliant bible readings, babies, candles, blessings and so much more. The feast centres around Mary and Joseph as they bring Jesus to be presented in the Temple, where all Jewish parents went to give an offering of thanksgiving to God. It is such a vivid scene which on the one hand I imagine as being chaotic, busy and messy (Sacrificing animals normally is). Yet it holds within it this beautiful intimacy of parents wanting to give thanks for the most precious of gifts, a child. There is tenderness in the way in which the older generation of faithful people, Simeon and Anna, come to greet Jesus and make their own proclamations about this child.

For the church it is a reminder that we are intimately linked to our Jewish heritage, and yet at the same time we look to the “light which lightens all nations”. It is a turning point, a pivot, a crossroads and it falls at a time when we also turn from the crib to the cross, from Christmas to Easter. I look forward to celebrating this great feast with you all in some way this weekend.

SUNDAY WORSHIP 29^th JANUARY 2023

8am – BCP HOLY COMMUNION – ALL SAINTS – REVD DIANE

10am – BENEFICE SUNG HOLY COMMUNION – REVD LIZZIE AND REVD DIANE WITH ST MARYS KIDS

2pm – BAPTISM OF ALFRED – ALL SAINTS – REVD LIZZIE – (ALL WELCOME)

Please do bring your own candle with you to the 10am service to be lit and blessed!

THE WEEK AHEAD

Wednesday 1^st Feb 9.15am – Celtic Morning Prayer (Change of venue) See Notice sheet for details

Thursday 2^nd Feb 10am – Holy Communion at St Mary’s Church

Sunday 5^th Feb 10am – Open Church St Marys

10.30am – Sung Holy Communion at All Saints with Junior Church

6.30pm – Choral Evensong for Candlemas at St Marys

I want to signpost you to the letter by the Bishop of Bristol – The Rt Revd Viv Faull in regards to her response to the Church of England’s recent communications. It is available here

Also do keep an eye out for lent group information. We are hoping to host a day time group on Wednesday afternoons and also an evening group on a Tuesday.

Candlemas – Malcolm Guite

They came, as called, according to the Law.
Though they were poor and had to keep things simple,
They moved in grace, in quietness, in awe,
For God was coming with them to his temple.
Amidst the outer court’s commercial bustle
They’d waited hours, enduring shouts and shoves,
Buyers and sellers, sensing one more hustle,
Had made a killing on the two turtle doves.
They came at last with us to Candlemas
And keep the day the prophecies came true;
We share with them, amidst our busyness,
The peace that Simeon and Anna knew.
For Candlemas still keeps his kindled light:
Against the dark our Saviours face is bright.

Blessings as always

Revd Lizzie

O Captain My Captain

The week that spans the 18^th to the 25^th January has been marked as The Christian Week of Prayer for Unity for over a century. It is a week that churches of all denominations are asked to pray not just for unity, but for peace, justice and the oppressed. But how do we really begin to understand what those words might actually mean or what that might look like? How do we pray for unity, peace and justice? What if any of those worthy things for prayer are in conflict with each other? That is something that the Church of England Bishops have been grappling with particularly this week.

When thinking and praying around this I was suddenly reminded of a 1989 film that I find both beautiful and thought provoking and always makes me cry. “The Dead Poets Society” follows a year in an American School. A young English teacher Mr Keating (played by Robin Williams) tries to inspire his students to look beyond just their own experience and see the world from a different angle. My favourite scene sees him encourage them all to stand on a table in the classroom just so they can look at the world from a different viewpoint. No spoilers here just in case you haven’t seen it but the phrase “O Captain my Captain” used in the film encapsulates some of what it means to be inspired to see the world differently.

Jesus calls us to look at the world differently and part of our call as Christians is to be brave enough, generous enough to do that. I think that is the way in which my muddled prayers this week for justice, unity, peace and the oppressed have been formed.

This week begins our adventure into learning about the Book of Jonah. All Saints Cafe Church on Sunday at 10.30 will be given over to looking at this fascinating and inspiring book of the Old Testament and an introduction to the book and its themes that will then be unpacked in café church over 2023. Its a really easy service to bring a friend or family member to church, and is set in an informal way with coffee and food. We have communion at 8am at All Saints and also Sung Holy Communion at St Marys at 10am.

SERVICES THIS SUNDAY – 22^nd JANUARY 2023

8am – Said Holy Communion – All Saints

10.00am – Sung Holy Communion – St Marys

10.30am – Cafe Church – Book of Jonah – All Saints

THE WEEK AHEAD

Wednesday 25^th 9am – Celtic Morning Prayer at All Saints Church

Thursday 26^th 10am – Holy Communion at St Mary’s Church

Sunday 29^th 8am – Holy Communion BCP at All Saints

10am – Benefice Sung Holy Communion at St Marys

One of the Prayers for Christian Unity that I have found helpful this week and I hope it also blesses you

Heavenly Father
You have called us in the Body of your Son Jesus Christ
To continue his work of reconciliation
And reveal you to the world,
Forgive us the sins which tear us apart
Give us the courage to overcome our fears
And to seek the unity which is your gift and your will
Through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord
Who is alive and reigns with you
In the unity of the Holy Spirit
One God now and forever.
Amen

Revd Lizzie Kesteven

Greetings! Friends of St.Mary’s and All Saints!

Well, folks, it’s been a rather wet week, hasn’t it? My vocabulary for rain is being stretched to the limit – it’s been drizzling, mizzling, bucketing, tipping down, raining cats and dogs – it’s been nice weather for ducks! Never have I been so glad to be clad in my Paramo waterproofs – though water did run down them into my shoes!

By contrast, this time last year we enjoyed a short break in a cottage by the sea at Cushendun in County Antrim. We got up at dawn for a beach walk and saw this view. I hope you’ll feel cheered by the rays of the rising sun- because it also reminded me of these words of hope from the prophet Isaiah which we repeat at morning prayer during Epiphany.

The light of Epiphany shines as the hours of sunlight begin to increase and the dark winter days release us into the promise of spring’s new life. God’s work of transformation is all around us and yet Isaiah doesn’t pretend everything’s already fine. He doesn’t gloss over the reality of suffering but injects fresh hope into the darkness. Isaiah speaks the words we need as we pray for the people of Ukraine.

Though night still covers the earth and darkness the peoples, above you the Holy One arises and above you God’s glory appears!

Isaiah 60:2

The sound of violence shall be heard no longer in your land, or ruin and devastation within your borders!

Isaiah 60:18

Yes, Lord, Amen, may it be so.

We look forward to welcoming you at one of our services this Sunday, as we gather to worship God and pray for individuals and nations in need.

Sunday Worship January 15th

Second Sunday of Epiphany

Readings: Isaiah 49: 1 – 7; 1 Corinthians 1: 1 – 9; John 1: 29 – 42.

10.00am Sung Service with Baptism at St. Marys with Revd Diane

10.30am Holy Communion at All Saints with Archdeacon Neil Warwick

6.30pm Epiphany Carols at St. Marys With Mark Simms LLM

Worship in the coming week and next Sunday…

Wednesday 18^th. 9.00am – Celtic Morning Prayer at All Saints Church

Thursday 19^th10.00am – Holy Communion at St Mary’s Church

Sunday 22nd 8.00am – Holy Communion All Saints

10.00am – Sung Holy Communion St Marys

10.30am – Café Church – Book of Jonah Session 1

This Sunday we will welcome two new children into the church family at St.Mary’s. The service of Holy Baptism is full of the language of light. The liturgy closes with this wonderful prayer.

God has delivered us from the dominion of darkness
And has given us a place with the saints in light. 
You have received the light of Christ; Walk in this light all the days of your life.

At everyone replies:

Shine as a light in the world, to the glory of God the Father! In these days may you all catch glimpses of the glorious hope of the risen Christ.

Revd Diane

This week, we celebrate the Feast of the Manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles, commonly known as Epiphany. This is when we think about the way Jesus was revealed to the Magi through the sign of a star. Throughout the season of Epiphany, we retell the stories of how who Jesus is was became known to different people. Next week we hear bout John the Baptist’s testimony about Jesus. The week after, we hear about the call of the first disciples, Peter, Andrew, James and John Then we finish the season with the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, with the witness of Simeon and Anna. All these stories reveal something of who Jesus is through the words and actions of others.

Yet, when we talk about having “an epiphany”, we mean that we suddenly realise something that we never properly understood before. In that sense, it was the Magi, John the Baptist, those first disciples and Simeon and Anna who had an epiphany. Suddenly, they got it. God opened their eyes, and they could see clearly. The child of Bethlehem is the king, the anointed one of God. The one on whom the Spirit descended is the Lamb of God. The man from Nazareth is the one to follow. The baby in the temple is God’s messiah. It is through those epiphanies, those revelations of the deeper truth beneath the surface of ordinary events, that God changed their lives forever.

Sometimes, the same thing happens to us. Whether it is a big thing or a small, God reveals to us something that we never managed to see before. Suddenly, we just get it. We are never too young or too old, too experienced or too inexperienced, too educated or too uneducated. There may still be new epiphanies that God has in store for us. Let us pray that we may be open to the everything that God has prepared for us.

This Sunday we are following our usual second Sunday pattern, with 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 our all age Messy/Muddy Church. This gives the following services for this Sunday:

8.00 am – All Saints – Holy Communion (said)

10.00 am – St Mary’s – Holy Communion

10.30 am – All Saints – Messy/Muddy Church

This week most groups and activities are back to normal after the Christmas break. We have Celtic morning prayer at All Saints at 9.00 am on Wednesday and Holy Communion on Thursday at 10.00 am at St Mary’s. Next Sunday there is a baptism at 10.00 am at St Mary’s and Holy Communion at 10.30 am at All Saints. Next Sunday evening is the Epiphany carol service at St Mary’s at 6.30 pm. This gives the services for the coming week as follow:

Wednesday 11^th – 9.00 am – All Saints – Celtic morning prayer

Thursday 12^th – 10.00 am – St Mary’s – Holy Communion

Sunday 15^th

10.00 am – St Mary’s – Baptism

10.30 am – All Saints – Holy Communion

6.30 pm – St Mary’s – Epiphany Carols

So, as we get back into the normal routines of life after the Christmas break, let us follow the advice of the prophet Isaiah in the reading for Epiphany. He told the people of Israel to lift their eyes and look around to see all the things that God was doing for them. Let us do the same so we can see all that God is doing for us and all that he is calling us to do in his world.

Mark