Author: Sam Toogood

Polymath bluffer, lover of cricket, Wodehouse, music and F.L.O.S.S, and home-dad to Hope and Robin.

Week beginning Sunday 8th December 2024

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info
“Ugolino di Nerio or / tai / eller Ugolino da Siena (1295?-1337?/1347?): Saint John the Baptist / Johannes Kastaja / Johannes Döparen” by Finnish National Gallery is marked with CC0 1.0.

PLEASE NOTE:   St Mary’s Fair which was due to have taken place on Saturday 7th, but which had to be postponed due to the severe weather, will be rescheduled and the new date advertised in due course.

On this 2nd Sunday of Advent our attention is drawn to the prophetic voice of both Micah from the Old Testament and John the Baptist. It is also a Sunday when the advent theme of “Peace” is forefront.  Prophets often come as messengers, but they are not necessarily associated with being peaceful. I doubt that the company of John or Micah would have been comfortable, with their message of repentance and a promise of God who will act like a refiners fire!

However, it is a reminder to me that peace is hard won, however uncomfortable that may be. That the deep work of God that is needed in each of us even as it calls us to a place that can feel difficult and challenging. How can that be a good thing? What is God doing in this?  I hold to the knowledge that each of us is made in the image of God. That God works on us, and keeps working on us, because God loves us. God is never done with me or you. In that way I believe we will arrive with God, ourselves and others at a place which is refined as like gold and silver.

A prose that I came across this week by Casey Overton and is one I have found helpful for Advent – I offer it to you.

Advent is an irrational commitment to a better future.
Advent is a protest demand.
Advent is still believing we are loved even when we have forgotten what love feels like.
The scriptures cannot promise us smooth pathways nor can they entitle us to happiness.
Instead, we are given recipes for the audacity to await our collective salvation even from the brink of death.

May we know God’s prophetic call to peace.

This weekend’s worship offering.

8:00am – Holy Communion – All Saints

10:00am – Sung Holy Communion – St. Mary’s

10:30am – Service of the Word– All Saints (Link)  and Nativity Rehearsal (Church)

7:15pm – Generations – Christmas Treats – All Saints

THE WEEK AHEAD

Monday 9th Dec    

10:30am – Tiny Tots Christmas Party – All Saints 

7:30pm – Advent Home Group 

Tuesday 10th Dec  

10:30am – M4T Christmas Party – St Mary’s 

Wednesday 11th Dec

9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer – All Saints 

2:00pm-3:30pm – Advent Group – St Mary’s

Thursday 12th Dec

10:00am – Holy Communion  – St. Mary’s 

Friday 13th Dec

1:00pm – Concert – St Mary’s

All Day – Briarwood School – All Saints

Saturday 14th Dec

12:00 – 2:00pm – Saturday Lunches  – St Mary’s  

Sunday 15th Dec

8:00am – Holy Communion – All Saints 

10:00am – Holy Communion with Bishop Viv– St Marys 

4.30pm – All Saints Nativity Service 

A reminder that next Sunday (15th Dec) is All Saints Nativity in the afternoon – please donate toys that are given to children who do not receive much at Christmas.

Blessings and Peace

Revd Lizzie

Week beginning Sunday 1st December 2024

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info

Advent Sunday

Photo by Alda González-Cuevas on Unsplash

With trepid anticipation I have been waiting for something to arrive in the post for the last few weeks, and when it finally did a few days ago, I was as excited as a small child who waits for Christmas. The object of my eager longing – a new diary. 

Each year the church starts again at Advent. Not January, or New Year, but Advent. This is when the new diaries, new lectionaries, new readings all start over. For me the arrival of a new diary is a chance to start again, with good intentions, that my new diary will not end up as haphazard, dilapidated, worn and scribbled on as last years. I am just as hopeful this year as I look at my well kept new diary, with entries in December looking neat and ordered.

As we begin Advent, we are asked to begin again. To start afresh with God. To come with all the hopes, dreams, worries and fears and lay them out to the Almighty. A spiritual cleaning is asked of us. I find that not only a good thing to do, but an essential thing for my soul. It helps me get things in order, builds a healthy spiritual perspective and confronts me with my need to listen more attentively to God, in worship, in Advent Groups, in fellowship at special services. Starting Advent well, like any new year gives sustenance for all that lies ahead.

I hope and pray that as we start Advent together, you are as expectant and excited as I am.

Our worship this weekend helps us to enter into that space of listening to God afresh – everyone is welcome to join us at all or any of them.

WORSHIP THIS WEEKEND – SUNDAY 1st DECEMBER

10:00am – St Marys – Toy Service – Guides and Brownies

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

6.30pm – Advent Candlelit Service

THE WEEK AHEAD

Monday 2nd Dec  

10:30am – Tiny Tots – All Saints 

Tuesday 3rd Dec

10:30am – M4T  – St Mary’s

Weds 4th Dec

9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer – All Saints 

Thursday 5th Dec

10:00am – Holy Communion – St. Mary’s 

Friday 6th Dec

11:00am – Living After Loss – St Marys

Saturday 7th Dec

11:00am – 2:00pm  – St Mary’s Christmas Fair  

Sunday 8th Dec

8:00am – Holy Communion – All Saints 

10:00am – Sung Holy Communion – St. Mary’s 

10:30am – Service of the Word and Nativity Rehearsal – All Saints 

7:15pm – Generations – All Saints 

God of hope, who brought love into this world, be the love that dwells between us. God of hope, who brought peace into this world, be the peace that dwells between us. God of hope, who brought joy into this world, be the joy that dwells between us. God of hope, the rock we stand upon, be the centre, the focus of our lives always, and particularly this Advent time Amen

Blessings

Revd Lizzie

Advent and Christmas 2024

On By Sam ToogoodIn events

We have lots of special services and events in December and beyond! Everyone is very welcome at all of them.

Sunday December 1stToy Service
Advent Service		10:00
18:30
Saturday December 7thChristmas Fair11:00 — 14:00
Sunday December 8thHoly Communion Service10:00
Sunday December 15thHoly Communion Service, lead by Vivienne Faull— Bishop of Bristol10:00
Sunday December 22ndHoly Communion Service
Carols by Candlelight		10:00
18:30
Tuesday December 24thFamily Carol Service with Christingle
Midnight Mass		16:00

23:30
Wednesday December 25thAll Age Family Communion10:00
Sunday December 29thHoly Communion with carols at our sister church All Saints10:30
Sunday January 19thEpiphany Carol Service18:30

Week beginning Sunday 24th November 2024

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info

Christ the King

Photo by Paul Zoetemeijer on Unsplash

I wonder what our first thoughts are when we think of what a King is. 

There are the historic kings with their penchant for lopping off heads (I see you Henry VIII) and sending troops off to conquer places that don’t belong to them. Then there are the kings depicted in art and media, those of fantasy and biography. Some are heroic forces for good, others evil and destructive, and some are comic.

Kings can be seen as vital links to heritage and tradition. Others see them as outdated and irrelevant. These sides can veer towards extremism in their passion, and history attests to this.

But then, is a king someone surrounded by pageantry and wealth, even if (like in the. UK) their role is ceremonial, or someone who may not embody this overt history but actually have more power? 

Here is the modern quandary we encounter  this weekend when we celebrate Christ as King. Is this imagery still helpful? It counted for much before, but even then it was used to believe that monarchs were chosen directly by God, rather than emphasising how Jesus’ kingship is entirely different to the human concept of monarchy.

Jesus is a leader, a figure of power-the highest power of all-that of God, yet unlike any king or earthly leader he serves, he avoids any of  the palaver attached to royalty or indeed any type of earthly leadership. 

Whilst the term king conjures up certain images that can be equally helpful and unhelpful, no other modern leadership term is free from positive of negative interpretations whatever field it appears within-sacred or secular. 

We see his leadership with power and authority, which so often can corrupt and destroy. Politics can become a game of ambition and ego. However, there are leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu who were fully human,  their humanity creating leaders of principle and integrity. Others like John F. Kennedy, Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jnr. were killed for their integrity but their influence continues to inspire. 

But Jesus as leader embodies, explodes and transforms whatever concept of leadership that society may create. His leadership is beyond our limited forms as he embodies the human and the divine. He leqds  without corruption or selfish ambition . He leads to serve and serves to lead. He redefines  the word king, as he redefines what it is to be human and held in the love of God.

Sunday 24th November Christ the King/Sunday next before Advent

10:00am: Holy Communion – St Marys

The Week Ahead

Tuesday 26th Nov

10.30am: Music for Toddlers – St Marys

Thursday 28th Nov

10:00am: Holy Communion – St. Mary’s

Saturday 30th Nov          

12.00 – 1:30pm: Saturday Lunches – St Mary’s

Sunday 1st Dec (Advent Sunday)

10:00am: Creative Church – St Mary’s

6:30pm: 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

Fr Kester de Oliveira

Week beginning Sunday 17th November 2024

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info

One of my favourite story books as a child was “The owl who was afraid of the dark” by Jill Tomlinson.  For me it evokes good memories, it was both a book that my mother read to me and also one that I was first able to read by myself. The baby owl Plop (what a great name!) discovers new things about the dark, that it can be a place of excitement and discovery and need not always be a place to be feared.  

Yet the darkness can be a scary place. As the nights draw in and the days shorten, so too do the readings we hear in church take on more sombre and darker notes. The bible stories remind me that the whole compass of life will involve rupture and darkness, uncertainty and fragility. How do God’s people navigate the darkness and yet remain a people of light and hope? That is a question that has been asked time and time again.

These past weeks of elections, budgets, remembrance and fracture illuminate a vulnerability and fragility of the world. The Church is not immune from the darkness, and it necessitates a need to be both repentant and reflective about how harm done is acknowledged and amendment keenly sought. 

In the Letter to the Hebrews it speaks of “how to provoke one another to love and good deeds” and to “not neglect meeting together”. I was struck by how important both elements of this were to being able to discover the guiding lights when it feels dark outside.  That we are called to be a people who “agitate” ourselves and others in love and that this is done most effectively when we meet others. Some of the most poignant, challenging and yet hopeful of moments in life are when we seek to be with others in the flesh, face to face. 

I wish to encourage us to do so, be it in church, cafes, parks or elsewhere in the spaces we work, play and encounter others. Meeting together, even when fragile and wobbly, is a possible way to be able to see in the darkness, so that it doesn’t confound or frighten us, but allows us a path of light to follow.

This week we meet to worship together – Sunday 17th November

10am – St Marys – Sung Holy Communion with Baptism

10.30am – All Saints – Holy Communion with Hymns

THE WEEK AHEAD

Tuesday 19th

10:30am – M4T – St Mary’s parish room.

Weds 20th

9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer – All Saints 

Thursday 21st 

10:00am – Holy Communion  – St. Mary’s 

12:00pm – Funeral – St Marys 

Saturday 23rd

12.00  Wedding – St Mary’s  

Sunday 24th

8.00am – Holy Communion – All Saints

10:00am – Sung Holy Communion – St Marys 

10.30am – Cafe Church – All Saints

Blessings

Revd Lizzie

Week beginning Sunday 10th November 2024

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info
Photo by Fraizer Dunleavy on Unsplash

When a young boy, my family subscribed to a weekly comic which routinely told ‘war stories’.  These were daring tales of soldiers and sailors who overcame mountainous odds, defeated enemies, and often won medals.  This stirred the hearts of young lads.  As the years rolled by, I noticed that the stories became more varied.  We heard about spies, or radio operators, or scientists – all of whom eventually contributed to victory in the Second World War.

And, more years further on, we now hear tales of the Women’s Land Army, or the Lumberjills (as the Women’s Timber Corps were affectionately known).  There were plenty of others who contributed their part to the war effort, many of whom stayed at home and undertook mundane ordinary tasks which were vital to keep the country alive and flourishing.  In this week of Remembrance Sunday,  all these people deserve to be remembered.  Of course, we must recall those who made the final sacrifice.  Yet they were not alone.  Many made a “living sacrifice” as Paul names it in Romans 12: “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

In addition, it is right that we remember those who have opposed injustice through their peaceful objection.  Think of Rosa Parks who in 1950s Alabama courageously stood firm (or should it be “sat firm”?!), against racial prejudice.  And here in the 1960s, there was the determined brave efforts of those involved in the Bristol Bus Boycott.  There are many forms of evil in this world, each of which demands a different type of resistance.  We may not personally be able to address each one of this world’s troubles; but we can choose what our particular contribution can be, to advance God’s kingdom.  When we remember, we honour those who made for us the possibility of a better today.  We honour the past partly by choosing well today.  As the Kohima Epitaph says:

When you go home
Tell them of us and say:
For your tomorrow
We gave our today

Sunday 10th November – Remembrance Sunday

08.00am – Holy Communion, All Saints

10:00am – Remembrance Sunday Holy Communion followed by civic act of remembrance in Fishponds Park, St Mary’s

10:45am – All Age Remembrance Service with Scouting Groups – All Saints

7.15pm – Generations Youth Group, All Saints

The Week Ahead

Tues 12th Nov

10:30am – Music for Toddlers, St Mary’s Parish Room

Weds 13th Nov

09:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer, All Saints

Thursday 14th Nov

10:00am  Holy Communion, St. Mary’s

Friday 15th Nov

11:00am – Living after Loss – Bereavement Group

Saturday 16th Nov

12.00 – 2:00pm  – Saturday Lunches, St Mary’s     

Sunday 17th Nov

10:00am  Sung Holy Communion with Baptism, St Mary’s

10:30am  Holy Communion with Hymns, All Saints

Best wishes

Bob

Week beginning Sunday 3rd November 2024

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info

Dear Friends in Christ,

After a summer which has seemed very short of summeriness, we are in the time of year where there is a real change of mood. We transition to Autumn, with its golds and reds, but also the clock changes making the nights longer. The change from October to November takes into the season of remembrance, and then the gradually intensifying journey to Christmas.

I was in Page Park with a friend and as we walked around it I was struck by the beauty of the trees, but also the mix of people and their pets simply enjoying being in this space. Being there felt so special and harmonious, creation in all its forms co-existing. 

Sadly, our readings remind us that the world isn’t like this. We’re admonished and commanded to welcome the stranger, something that should be second nature,  but sadly isn’t the real experience of so many.

The Beatitudes, the wonderful sermon where Jesus turns round the accepted social order in a series of timeless statements, recognises and values the poor, the grieving, the downtrodden, the people shoved down into the lowest parts of society. But they are not just identified, they are assured blessings. They are seen and loved by God, who sees so differently to how we see. The norms of the world that value success, fame and power will be utterly reversed, God’s order circumvents ours, valuing those we devalue, seeing those we are blind to, promises of hope and joy.

Our services and activities for the week ahead:

This Sunday: All Saints Day

10:00am Creative Church: St Marys

10.30am All Saints Patronal Festival: Holy Communion with Baptism: All Saints

6.30pm Choral Evensong: St Marys

THE WEEK AHEAD

Tues 5th  Nov 10:30am Music for Toddlers: St Mary’s

Weds 6th  Nov 9:00am: Celtic Morning Prayer: All Saints

Thursday 7th Nov 10:00am: Holy Communion: St. Mary’s

Saturday 9th Nov 10:00am: Coffee Morning, Book Sale & Bristol Repair Café: All Saints

12.00 – 2:00pm – Saturday Lunches: St Mary’s

Next Sunday: 10th November

08.00: Holy Communion: All Saints

10:00: Remembrance Sunday Holy Communion followed by civic act of  remembrance in Fishponds Park: St Marys

10:45: All Age Remembrance Service with Scouting Groups: All Saints

7.15pm: Generations Youth Group

 

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

Week beginning Sunday 27th October 2024

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

To all God’s beloved in Fishponds, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ

Since we are on the cusp of Bible Sunday I couldn’t resist opening my message with this beautiful greeting by the apostle Paul. He uses it to begin his letter to the Romans. This Sunday marks the launch of our new Cafe Church year studying Romans, animated by Bible Society’s dynamic presenter, Andrew Ollerton.

The Last Sunday after Trinity is commonly celebrated as Bible Sunday and the Collect gives thanks for the Holy Scriptures and asks that God would help us ‘hear, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them’  So how where do we start so our Bible studies don’t give us indigestion?

Over the years, I have valued tools for Bible Study e.g. consulting commentaries, using a Lectio Divina method of hearing the Bible as if God is engaging in a conversation with me through a phrase or passage. I find the so-called ’Swedish Method’ particularly helps me engage with any passage by using a range of questions (one version of the Swedish Bible Study Method is available here). Four key questions are:

What stands out to me in this passage? What don’t I understand? Does the passage remind me of something going on in my life, or the world at the moment? What will I do as a result of reading this passage?

If I apply these questions to this week’s Gospel reading about the healing of Blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10:46-51 this is the sort of thing that emerges for me… For you, it may look different.

What stands out to me in this passage?

  • The care of the people around Bartimaeus: ’Take heart, he (Jesus) is calling you!”
  • The courteous way Jesus addresses the blind man without making assumptions: ‘What do you want me to do for you?’
  • Bartimaeus chose the better, more life-transforming thing- not more money (he was begging), but the recovery of his sight. 
  • Bart’s faith made all the difference. He trusted Jesus and Jesus healed him.

What don’t I understand?

  • I wonder why Bartimaeus addressed Jesus as ’Son of David’? I will need to consult a commentary to find this out, or a local Bible expert 

Does the passage remind me of anything?

  • My thoughts turn to those who sit and beg around Fishponds and God’s greatest desire for their flourishing and how that might happen for them and how God might use our churches to be a part of that

What will I do as a result of reading this passage?

  • I will ponder the question of Jesus (What do you want me to do for you?) and, like Bartimaeus, try to identify and then dare to ask for something I would really like God to do in my life


Services on Sunday 27th October 2024

8.00am        Holy Communion – All Saints

10:00am      Sung Holy Communion, Trinity – St Marys

10.30am       Cafe Church –Book of Romans (Episode 1)- All  Saints

Events in the week ahead

Monday 28th October

No meeting for Tiny Tots, Beavers, Cubs or Scouts – Half Term

Wednesday 30th October

Celtic Morning Prayer – 9.00am at All Saints Church

Thursday 31st October

Holy Communion – 10.00am in St. Mary’s Parish Room (enter via back door)

Friday 1st November

Living after Loss – 11.00am in St. Mary;s Parish Room

Saturday 2nd November

Coffee Morning – 10am to 12noon at All Saints Church.

 Plus Bristol Repair Team

Services on Sunday 3rd November 2024

10:00am – Creative Church – St Mary’s

10:30am – All Saints Patronal Festival: Holy Communion with Baptism and Junior Church and Band  – All Saints

6:30pm –  Choral Evensong – St. Mary’s

 As you can see, there are three services to choose from to come and worship God together in Fishponds this Sunday. We look forward to seeing new and old faces. And you even get a lie-in, as the clocks go back one hour! 

I wonder what points your preacher will draw out and what you will hear this Sunday? While we can read the Bible alone, it is even better when we explore the Bible in community.  We can learn from a preacher who has studied the Gospel text and consulted commentaries and read what contemporary theologians are drawing out for today’s world. Or we can meet around a table and hear how a passage is resonating with members of the church family (e.g. at Cafe Church). Hearing from each other helps us care for one another better as we come to know what others are going through.

Additional Collect for Last Sunday after Trinity

Merciful God, teach us to be faithful in change and uncertainty,
that trusting in your word and obeying your will
we may enter the unfailing joy of Jesus Christ our Lord.

May God bless you with a healing message from the Scriptures this Sunday,

Revd Diane (curate)

Week beginning Sunday 20th October 2024

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info

The reading from the gospel of Mark that occurs this week in the lectionary is a one that was hard to grasp for the first followers of Jesus and is still a challenge today. Jesus tells his motley crew, after they fight among themselves (again!) that the call to greatness, is one that is first and foremost a call to service. James and John the “Sons of Thunder” had asked that they might have a place at the “top” table, ahead of others. That’s what caused the angry scuffle. Jesus uses it as a teaching opportunity for all those that gathered around. It is still today a “teachable moment”.

Jesus is often guiding people to the greater kingdom vision of a place of service over and above that of hierarchical power and privilege.  Jesus’ choses to spend his last evening with his friends showing them, in the washing of feet. The master is the one who kneels and washes feet, rather than hold court at table. The idea that the true power of God, that the kingdom is first and foremost carried out in the service, practical and prayerful, of those around us. How do we serve others? 

Whilst away this week on conference, one of our speakers – Elizabeth Oldfield, spoke passionately about something that resonated with me. Her core message was one about building relationships, and how this is at the centre of how we relate to people, build people up and understand our differences more keenly. A phrase that stood out for me was “Connect before you Correct!”. Her focus on deep listening to others, to listening to ourselves and our preferences, whilst simultaneously curiously seeking out to discover why other people might view the world differently was refreshing and full of wisdom. Jesus’ call to servant ministry, turning the topsy turvy world of power and privilege on its head requires us to connect with others by accepting a servant centred service. 

Who might we reach out too and listen too today? Who might we cross the road or church aisle to listen too. Who might we not know? Who do we see? Who might we not see? It was a teachable moment for me. As is still the words of Jesus today 

but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant”

Worship Services this Sunday 20th October

10am – Baptism  with Communion at St Marys

10.30am – Holy Communion with Hymns – All Saints

The Week Ahead

Monday 21st        

10.30am – Tiny Tots – All Saints

Tuesday 22nd

10:30am – M4T  – St Marys

Wednesday 23rd

9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer – All Saints 

Thursday 24th

10:00am – Holy Communion  – St. Mary’s 

Saturday 26th

12.00 – 2:00pm – Saturday Lunches  – St Mary’s 

7pm – All Saints Quiz – £6 a ticket. 

Sunday 27th

8.00am – Holy Communion – All Saints 

10:00am Sung Holy Communion – St Marys 

10.30am Cafe Church – All Saints 

God of Glory, the end of our searching, help us to lay aside all that prevents us from seeking your kingdom, and to give all that we have, to gain the pearl beyond price, through our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

Revd Lizzie

Week beginning Sunday 13th October 2024

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info

Money, money, money
Must be funny
In the rich man’s world
Money, money, money
Always sunny
In the rich man’s world

All the things I could do
If I had a little money
It’s a rich man’s world’ 

Money, Money, Money-ABBA

Dear Friends in Christ,

I was reading an article about how much money the Democrats and Republicans have raised for their election costs, and it was staggering. The power of the ‘tech bros’ like Elon Musk through their staggeringly huge fortunes is increasingly alarming. Money-the presence or absence of it-seems to be increasingly the goal of life in the modern world. 

Yet so many others have so little. We see that in Fishponds-the homeless, those struggling with paying for heating and food. The gaps in society seem to grow ever bigger.

This Sundays Gospel reading  has the challenge to the rich young man. Can he give up his wealth to serve Jesus? It seems to be his stumbling block. Yet we need to also remember that it’s not having money in itself that’s evil but the love of it. History charts the wealthy who have shared that wealth. Its placing money above anything else that is the issue-especially when it replaces God in our hearts, and it can be anything that we put in the place of God that can become our stumbling block, not just money. I hope that the rich young man was able to see this and came to follow Jesus.

Sunday 13th October.  Twentieth Sunday after Trinity

8.00am – Holy Communion – All Saints

10.00am – Holy Communion – St. Marys

10.30am – Messy Muddy Church – All Saints

7.15pm – Generations – All Saints

The Week Ahead

Monday 14th October

10.30am – Tiny Tots – All Saints Community Hall

6.15pm – Beavers – All Saints Community Hall

Wednesday 16th October

9.00am – Celtic Morning Prayer –  All Saints Church

2-3.30pm – Benefice Bible Book Club – St. Mary’s Church

Thursday 17th October

10.00am – Holy Communion – St. Mary’s Church

6.30pm – 13th Bristol Cubs – All Saints Community Hall

8.00pm – 13th Bristol Scouts – All Saints Community Hall

Friday 18th October

11am – 12pm – Living after Loss –  St. Mary’s Church

Saturday 19th October

12 – 2pm – Saturday Lunches – St. Mary’s Church 

Next Sunday 20th October. Twenty First Sunday after Trinity

10.00am – Baptism & Holy Communion – St.Mary’s Church

10.30am – Holy Communion – All Saints Church

Looking ahead

Thursday 24th October – Fr Roger’s funeral – 2.15pm – St John the Baptist Church, Ruardean. All Welcome.

Saturday 26th October – Quiz Night – 7pm start.  All Saints Community Hall – Price £6 per person includes jacket potato with filling of choice

This academic year we welcome Charlie Blackett, who will be with both parishes on a long term placement as she trains to be a vicar. Charlie is at St Mary’s next week, please chat to her at coffee and ask any questions

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