Tag: jesus

Week beginning Sunday 7th December 2025

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info
Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash

The church’s seasons and year are often shown through different colours. Frontals, vestments change colour according to where we are in each year. Advent, like Lent, is the colour purple. Purple is the colour of royalty (and of bishops!) but more importantly it is for the church the colour of penitence. So here in the second week of advent our readings start to focus on repentance, starting with the prophets this is a call to change.

What is it that this Advent we are willing to ask, brave enough to pray to change in us so that we might be ready? What are we prepared to put down, give up, make up, pivot to or away from to be as ready as possible for Christ (mas)? For each of us that will be something different. Is it a temptation that we need to be honest about? Is it a relationship that needs attention? Knowing what our weaknesses might be, holding them up to the light of God and examining them gently, carefully in prayer, can be the beginnings of this movement. As Paul notes this week it is a time of “encouragement” for us to a place of harmony. Like all good harmonies, it doesn’t mean that we will all sing the same note, or even start or end at the same time – but that when we do this examination of ourselves, that the resulting music with all others is one that brings blessing to the world. 

As well as St Mary’s Christmas Fair this Saturday (11-2pm) we have as worship the following.

Services this Sunday – 7th December 2025

10:00am – Toy Service with the Rainbows, Brownies and Guides – St Mary’s

10:30am – Holy Communion with Band and Junior Church (Nativity rehearsal) – All Saints

6:30pm – Advent Candlelit Procession  – St Marys

The Week Ahead

Mon 8th Dec

10:30am – Tiny Tots, All Saints

Tue 9th Dec

10:30am – M4T, St. Mary’s Parish Rooms

Wed 10th Dec

9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer, All Saints

Thu 11th Dec

10:00am – Holy Communion, St. Mary’s

Fri 12th Dec

1:00pm-2pm – Christmas Concert – Veterans Band, St Mary’s

Sat 13th Dec

12:00pm-1:30pm – Saturday Lunches, St. Mary’s

Sun 14th Dec

8:00am – Holy Communion, All Saints

10:00am – Holy Communion, St. Mary’s

10:30am – Advent service of the word,  with Nativity rehearsal, All Saints

4:30pm – Nativity, All Saints

6:30pm – Generations, Avonmeads 10Pin Bowling

May you have a Joyful Advent.

Revd Lizzie

Week beginning Sunday 30th November 2025

On By Sam ToogoodIn Uncategorized, Weekly Info
“Grocery Store at Christmas” by Michael Kappel, CC BY-NC 2.0

Dear Friends in Christ,

Supermarkets are a constant pointer to what time of year it is. The cycle from season to season seems to get swifter and also increasingly blurred. 

We’ve had Halloween, with every possible opportunity taken to shove witches and skeletons onto anything. Some of the items are creative and entertaining, but its created a massive selling opportunity completely out of proportion to the event itself. And of course, the moment its done there’s Christmas merchandise in all its forms, only punctuated by the massive hype around the recent growth of Black Friday (and I’m no more immune to this particular hype than anyone else-the temptation to score that bargain that I don’t actually need is very alluring).

But what of Christmas? What are we actually encouraged to engage with over the next 4 weeks is the season of Advent? Most people’s only contact with Advent is via the plethora of admittedly lush Advent calendars. There’s nothing wrong with this, but surely the season of Advent is more than this.

Advent’s a period of reflection. It’s a thoughtful, positive anticipation, the excitement of Christmas set alongside the invitation to see beyond the busyness and prepare us to meet with God and truly rejoice with arrival of Christmas as we celebrate the birth9 of Jesus.

This Sunday – the 1st Sunday of Advent (30th November)

8:00am Holy Communion (BCP) – All Saints

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

4:30pm Christingle Service – All Saints

The Week Ahead

Mon 1st Dec

10:30am Tiny Tots – All Saints

Tue 2nd Dec

10:30am M4T – St. Mary’s Parish Rooms

Wed 3rd Dec

9:00am Celtic Morning Prayer – All Saints

Thu 4th Dec

10:00am Holy Communion – St. Mary’s

Fri 5th Dec

11:00am Living After Loss – St. Mary’s

Sat 6th Dec

10:00am Coffee Morning, Book Sale & Bristol Repair Cafe – All Saints

11:00am Christmas Fair – St Mary’s

Next Sunday Second of Advent (7th Dec) 

10:00am Toy service with Guides & Brownies – St. Mary’s

10:30am Holy Communion – All Saints

10:30am Junior Church – All Saints

6:30pm Advent Sequence – 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 23rd November 2025

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info
Photo by Mattia Poli on Unsplash

This Sunday’s gospel reading has one of the most amazing examples of faith in the bible. While Jesus was hanging on the cross, amid all the mocking of the passers-by, one of the criminals being executed with Jesus says “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”. I have no idea what that criminal thought Jesus’ kingdom and rule might look like or how and when it might come to be. Yet, despite the apparent hopelessness of the situation, there was still faith and hope enough to believe in Jesus.

This can be an inspiration to us today. Even when Christ’s kingdom seems far and distant, we still have faith in his just and gentle rule. Despite the very real presence of evil in the world, we still work for and look for the kingdom of God. In the event of tragedy, we look forward to the fulfilment of that kingdom, when there will be no more tears. Faced with our own weaknesses and failings, we turn back to Christ and ask for him to rule in our hearts.

As we start to turn our attention to Christmas, we are reminded that Christ is king, even when we cannot see it or understand it. He calls us to follow him day by day. There will be opportunities to reflect on this more this Sunday at 8.00 am at All Saints and 10.00 am at St Mary’s.

At our 10.30 am Café Church service at All Saints, we will continue our look at the Nicene creed. This month, we will be thinking about God the Father, the creator. What does it mean to call God Father? What can creation tell us about God? What other names and titles do we use for God? All this and more will be up for discussion.

This gives the following services for this Sunday 23rd November:

8.00 am  All SaintsHoly Communion (said)
10.00 am  St Mary’sHoly Communion
10.30 am  All SaintsCafé church

We have our normal pattern of services for the coming week. Next Sunday we have a Benefice service at St Mary’s. As such, there will be no 10.30 am service at All Saints. However, there will be a Christingle service at 4.30 pm. This gives the following services for the coming week:

Wednesday 26th9.00 am All SaintsCeltic Morning Prayer
Thursday 27th10.00 am St Mary’sHoly Communion
Sunday 30th8.00 am All SaintsHoly Communion
 10.00 am St Mary’sBenefice communion
 4.30 pm All Saints Christingle

So let us pray together in the words of the collect for this Sunday, the festival of Christ the King:

God the Father,
help us to hear the call of Christ the King
and to follow in his service,
whose kingdom has no end;
for he reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, one glory.
Amen

Yours in Christ

Mark

Week beginning Sunday 16th November 2025

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info
Photo by Nelli Chaitanya on Unsplash

“The end is nigh” wails a lonely figure in the distance, as the clouds darken and huge waves appear out of the sea, threatening impending doom and destruction. 

Whether it is disaster movies, or thriller novels, or bleak poetry, then there is a way in which there seems to be a human fascination with what might be depicted as “The end times” .

Armageddon, The Day of Judgement or The Final Reckoning is something that for centuries people have contemplated and worried about. A very natural response to times of change or shifts in power and environment. 

Of course, in a disaster movie, then there is often a heroine or hero whose skills are tested to the limit, but who ultimately succeeds in rescuing the world and humanity and that is why I find them so good to watch. I want to see someone save the world!

This time of year we often start to hear in the readings at church things that resonate with that disaster picture. Jesus in Luke’s gospel this week talks about famines, fighting, persecution and rebellions and we are invited to reflect on how we cope with the ever changing world around us. The big question the disciples ask is “WHEN”…let us know when disaster will strike so we can prepare, get ready…..or run away.

Jesus avoids that question. He asks them to be aware, stay alert and put their faith and trust in a way that saves without heroics, but promises that staying in close step with Jesus and his way will bring us through the storms ahead that help us find life.

This week’s worship – Sunday 16th November 2025

10am – Sung Holy Communion – St Marys

10:30am  – Holy Communion with Hymns – All Saints

The Week Ahead

Mon 17th Nov

10:30am – Tiy Tots, All Saints

Tue 18th Nov

10:30am – M4T, St. Mary’s Parish Rooms

Wed 19th Nov

9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer, All Saints

2:00pm – Bible Book Club, Venue TBC

Thu 20th Nov

10:00am – Holy Communion, St. Mary’s

Fri 21st Nov

11:00am – Living After Loss, St. Mary’s

7:00pm – “Christmas Choir” Practise, All Saints

Sat 22nd Nov

12:00pm – 1:30pm – Saturday Lunches, St. Mary’s

12-3pm – All Saints Christmas Fair

Sun 23rd Nov

8:00am – Holy Communion, All Saints

10:00am – Holy Communion, St. Mary’s

10:30am – Café Church, All Saints

Blessings

Revd Lizzie

​​

Week beginning Sunday 9th November 2025

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info

As we journey through Kingdom Season, the time between All Saints and Advent, we are invited to reflect on the themes of memory, sacrifice, and hope. This season is a precious opportunity to remember—last week, during All Souls, we held in our hearts the faithful departed. This week, as we approach Remembrance Sunday, we turn our thoughts to how we remember—both as a community and as individuals—particularly in the context of war, peace, loss, and the power of both memory and forgetting. 

Many of us carry precious memories passed through generations—stories of those who stood up for what was right, who fought in wars, or who served in quiet, often unseen ways. I think of my own grandad, who shared with me his experiences of serving in the Home Guard. As he spoke, I could see the deep emotion in his eyes, a reminder of the pain and weight that many carry with them long after the conflict is over. His story is just one of many others, each person fulfilling their role in different ways, in different times, in different places. 

On this Remembrance Sunday, it is right that we pause to honour all those who have made great sacrifices, especially those who gave their lives for the sake of peace and justice. But we are also called to remember those who continue to stand up for what is right today—those who work for peace, who speak against injustice, and who strive to build a more compassionate world. 

As we reflect, I gently remind us all that we, too, are part of this story. In a world torn by conflict and division, we are called to stand up for the oppressed, to feed the hungry, to clothe the poor, and to bring peace where there is none. Above all, we are called to reflect God’s love in all we do. 

This Week’s Services

8:00am Holy Communion, All Saints

10:00am Holy Communion, St. Mary’s (shortened service ending in a procession to the Park for the Act of Remembrance)

11:00am Civic Remembrance in Park, St. Mary’s

10:45am Remembrance Parade, All Saints

7:15pm Generations, All Saints

The Week Ahead

Mon 10th Nov

10:30am – Tiny Tots, All Saints

Tue 11th Nov

10:30am – M4T, St. Marys Parish Room
11:00am – Said service at the park memorial

Weds 12th Nov

9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer, All Saints

Thurs 13th Nov

10:00am – Holy Communion, St. Mary’s


Fri 14th Nov

7:00pm – “Christmas Choir” Practice, All Saints


Sat 15th Nov

12:00pm – 1:30pm – Saturday Lunches, St. Mary’s

Sun 16th Nov

10:00am – Holy Communion, St. Mary’s
10:30am – Holy Communion, All Saints

Blessings, 

Charlie Blackett

Week beginning Sunday 2nd November 2025

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info

There have been two and a half momentous occasions in the life of the worldwide church in recent weeks:

Pope Leo 14th and King Charles praying together in the Sistine Chapel, a holy place which lies at the heart of the Roman Catholic Church.  The backdrop is the magnificent portrayal of the Last Judgement, painted by Michelangelo.  The King was there not solely as monarch, but also as the supreme Governor of the Church of England.  Both Pope and King guide, govern and encourage their branches of the worldwide church, not through dictat, but by drawing on the wisdom of the ages, and through their own personal examples of attempting to live a godly life.  500 years of discord – sad though much of that has been – is set against the background of God patiently drawing us closer by grace, towards our heavenly home.  That is what it means to live “under the judgement of God”. 

Sarah Mullally, currently Bishop of London, has been appointed to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury.  I did not think that I would live to see the day when a woman – a gracious, strong, godly woman – would sit on the Throne of Saint Augustine.  She takes on the mantle of guiding the Church of England, formally begun in 597 AD – a church which has weathered storms and dangers, which has at times been a shining example of Christ-like living (and at times has cloaked the light for the Holy Spirit, through timidity, half-heartedness and resistance).  The Church of England has never been perfect – but is at its best when humbly seeking to discern God’s will afresh in new circumstances, and sacrificial serving all people of this land.

The “half” momentous occasion has been the decision form the House of Bishops to pause its efforts to make the Church of England a more inclusive, hospitable church (by recognising the full contributions of LGBTI+ disciples).  I am truly saddened by this.  But I take heart from the other two examples – that the journey towards building God’s kingdom on earth is neither easy nor short; that God’s gracious providential care will not be thwarted.

This Sunday marks the festival of All Saints, when we are called to remember the “saints” of past generations (some of whom, as they sought to be faithful to God, made decisions that we now question), the “saints” from different countries and cultures to our own, and the “saints” who do not look like us.  I put the word in inverted commas, because saints are not only to be found in stained glass windows.  Saints are all those who listen attentively for God’s word, who know they won’t get everything right, but who trust in the continuing inexhaustible kindness of God. 

This Sunday we have the following services

10am – Creative Church – St Mary’s

10.30am – All Saints Patronal Festival with Junior Church and Band

6.30pm – Choral Evensong – St Mary’s

THE WEEK AHEAD

Mon 3rd Nov

10.30am – Tiny Tots, All Saints 

Tue 4th Nov

10.30am – M4T, St. Mary’s Parish Rooms 

Weds 5th Nov

9.00am – Celtic Morning Prayer, All Saints 

Thurs 6th Nov

10.00am – Holy Communion, St. Mary’s 

Fri 7th Nov

11.00am – Living After Loss, St. Mary’s 

Sat 8th Nov

12.00pm – 1.30pm – Saturday Lunches, St. Mary’s 

Sun 9th Nov

8.00am – Holy Communion, All Saints 

10.00am – Holy Communion, St. Mary’s 

11.00am  – Civic Remembrance in Park – Fishponds Park

10.45am – Remembrance Service – All Saints 

7.15pm – Generations, All Saints 

Revd Bob

Week beginning Sunday 26th October 2025

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info
Photo by Jehyun Sung on Unsplash

Dear Friends in Christ,

One of the things I’ve noticed about being embedded in a community is the role of the unexpected leader. These are people who may be the most unlikely to lead in an ‘official’ way but who do so, often in dramatic and dynamic style, but also in quiet and unobtrusive ways.

In reality many of us are people of influence and manifest ‘soft’ authority, perhaps within our families or our friendship groups.

The unexpected leader is often someone who doesn’t follow conventional, ‘polite’ paths. They often are the ones who challenge authorities or systems. They may be those establish groups  to come together to achieve a common goal or address an injustice.

It’s easy to think that we as ordinary citizens have no power, no influence, but we do, and we can enable others to do so. It just needs the spark of one person to start a fire that changes everything.

This Sunday is Bible Sunday, and Jesus is starting his own journey through leadership. As a male in Judaic society, he would already possess inherited and unearned power. Now he speaks at the synagogue, itself a conveyer of his position.

His listeners are initially proud of what he’s doing-the local boy doing good-until he dumbfounds them by not playing the expected game, challenging them and breaking out a message that affronts them. 

Jesus begins his ministry with the Isaiah reading, proclaiming a message bigger than his hearers want. He’s not limited by his context. He’s now emerging into a new era, the ultimate in unexpected leaders.

This Sunday 26 October – the Last after Trinity

8:00am – Holy Communion, All Saints

10:00am- Holy Communion, St. Mary’s

10:30am – Cafe Church, All Saints

The Week Ahead

Weds 29th Oct

9:00am –   Celtic Morning Prayer, All Saints

Thurs 30th Oct

10:00am –  Holy Communion, St. Mary’s

Fri 31st Oct

11:00am –  Living After Loss, St. Mary’s

Sat 1st Nov

10:00am – Coffee Morning, Book Sale & Bristol Repair Café, All Saints

12:00pm – 1:30pm – Saturday Lunches, St. Mary’s

Next Sunday – 2nd November

10:00am – Creative Church, St. Mary’s

10:30am – Holy Communion, & Junior Church, All Saints

6:30pm – Choral 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 19th October 2025

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info
The Roman gates of Nicea.

This year is the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea. At this council, The Emperor Constantine gathered all the wise and the great in the church to resolve some questions that had been dividing the church. Christianity is a religion centred on the story of God’s relationship with human beings. That story started in the Old Testament and continues to this day. At the heart of the story is the story of Jesus, his life, death, and resurrection.

Living out this story, some questions arose. Is God the Father the same as the creator God of the Old Testament? Is Jesus a god, a human or somehow both? If Jesus is in some way a god, are there two gods or one? If there is one God, how is Jesus connected with God the Father? And what do we think about the Holy Spirit, the church, baptism, and resurrection? The answers to these questions have surprising consequences. They affect our attitudes to creation, to human suffering and to community, among other things.

The answers to the questions of the day were summarised in a document that was agreed by representatives of all the churches. This was updated in fifty-six years later in the Council of Constantinople to produce what we know as the Nicene creed. This statement of the Christian faith is still accepted by almost all of those who call themselves Christian.

In honour of this anniversary, we have decided to think about the creed in our Café Church services at All Saints. After a general introduction in October, we will work our way through the creed. We will reflect on what it says and how that makes a difference to our faith and in our lives. All are welcome to our first session on October 26th.

Before then, this Sunday, we have our normal pattern of service for a third Sunday. In addition, there is a memorial service at St Mary’s in the afternoon, “A Time to Remember”.

10.00 amSt Mary’sHoly Communion
10.30 amAll SaintsHoly Communion
3.00 pmSt Mary’sA Time to Remember

The services for the coming week are as follows: 

Wednesday 22nd9.00 amAll SaintsCeltic morning prayer
Thursday 23rd10.00 amSt Mary’sHoly Communion
Sunday 26th 8.00 amAll SaintsHoly Communion (said)
 10.00 amSt Mary’sHoly Communion
 10.30 am All SaintsCafé Church

Your brother in Christ

Mark

Week beginning Sunday 12th October 2025

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info
Everyone is Welcome
Photo by Katie Moum on Unsplash

I am very fond of the signs that have the word Welcome on their doors, especially the ones that have it in multiple languages. The world Welcome comes from two words – “Wil” which means “desired” and “Cuma” which means “Guest”. Its a rather lovely way to think about the word – to desire a guest. To wish for company. 

At both All Saints and St Mary’s we welcome people in all sorts of different ways, and to many different things – worship, concerts, groups, cafes. To extend a welcome to a whole community is something that is core to the values of the Church of England, which has a parish in every part of the country.  Part of our DNA is that everyone in a parish immediately belongs and that we are all welcome, regardless of creed, colour, sex or sexuality. It also means that all are welcome regardless of ability, intellect, wealth or skill. We don’t earn our parish – we simply are born, work, or live in it – we belong because we are here. 

As both churches, we are looking at ways in which we can live out this welcome, whether that is through open churches, better access or more creative invitations, it is good to believe, trust in and know that Jesus is the person who teaches us and models for us a radical welcome. May we be parish churches who trust in that welcome that is extended to us all.

All Saints welcomes our furry (and not so furry) friends ,to worship tomorrow for the Pet Service at 10.30 – do bring along your pet, or if not, a cuddly toy as we look at place of animals in our lives. St Mary’s focus will be on raising awareness of disability and how we can make a difference here in this place with our welcome.

WORSHIP SUNDAY 12th OCTOBER

8:00am – Holy Communion, All Saints

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

10:30am – Pet Service, All Saints

 7:15pm – Generations, The Wood

THE WEEK AHEAD

Mon 13th Oct

10:30am – Tiny Tots, All Saints

Tue 14th Oct

10:30am – M4T, St. Mary’s Parish Rooms

Weds 15th Oct

9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer, All Saints

2:00pm – Bible Book Club, St. Mary’s

Thurs 16th Oct

10:00am – Holy Communion, St. Mary’s

Fri 17th Oct

11:00am – Living After Loss, St. Mary’s

Sat 18th Oct

12:00pm – 1:30pm – Saturday Lunches, St. Mary’s

Sun 19th Oct

10:00am – Sung Service of the Word, St. Mary’s

10:30am – Holy Communion, All Saints

3pm – A Time to remember – St Mary’s

Blessings

Revd Lizzie

Week beginning Sunday 5th October 2025

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info

How do we live well in a world that marks many different life defining moments, almost simultaneously? The last 48 hours has brought us the news and horror of an attack on a synagogue during the Jewish festival of Yom Kippur. The news has also brought again a week of witnessing to continued bombing of Gaza and the subsequent loss of life. It has also been a week when a cure for Huntington’s Disease is seemingly possible, and one when the Church of England has made a historic appointment of the first woman to be the Archbishop of Canterbury.  There are things to mourn, times to weep and yet also things of thanksgiving and wonder and celebration. Is it okay to celebrate one thing at the same time as feeling aggrieved in prayer at another? How do we square that? Should we even try to make sense of it? Can we find genuine joy in one thing when it sits alongside tragedy in another? 

Today, the 4th October, is the day the church remembers St Francis of Assisi. A Saint whose story filled both extremes of wealth and chosen poverty. He may not have been aware in the 12th century of global news from around the world, but he did experience the extremes of both sorrow and joy. One of the striking things about Francis is perhaps once he had made his choice about how he was going to follow God, he appeared to have made peace with that decision, and in that he became a man of peace. A gentle, simple appreciative life was lived in the service of others and the created world. It was his intentional living in this way that perhaps gave rise to some of his more famous moments of compassion. No doubt he continued to have the same human responses of anger and injustice as others around him at what he saw and experienced. Yet he practiced peace. And for that I am truly grateful.

SERVICES THIS SUNDAY 5th OCTOBER

10am – St Mary’s – Creative Church – Looking at Eve

10:30am – All Saints – Harvest Festival Holy Communion Celebration with Band and Junior Church and Harvest Lunch

6:30am – St Mary’s – Choral Evensong for Dedication

THE WEEK AHEAD

Mon 6th Oct

10:30am – Tiny Tots, All Saints

Tue 7th Oct

10:30am – M4T, St. Mary’s Parish Rooms

Weds 8th Oct

9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer, All Saints

Thurs 9th Oct

10:00am – Holy Communion, St. Mary’s

Sat 11th Oct

12:00pm – 1:30pm – Saturday Lunches, St. Mary’s

Sun 12th Oct

8:00am – Holy Communion, All Saints

10:00am – Holy Communion, St. Mary’s

10:30am – Pet Service, All Saints

7:15pm – Generations, The Wood

Peace.

Revd Lizzie