Tag: jesus

Week beginning Sunday 1st February 2026

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info
Photo by Roman Suslov on Unsplash

There is something about how rituals originate and begin that I find really interesting. This week the Feast of Candlemas (or the Feast of the Presentation) is celebrated by the Church. Various rituals and ways of marking this feast have been given to us as a church over the years, mainly to do with blessing and light. St Marys will have Choral Evensong connecting us to some of the traditional canticles and music that has been formed over centuries. All Saints has developed its own tradition of encouraging people to bring a candle to our Holy Communion at 10.30, which is then blessed and lit and taken back to our homes and communities as a symbol of God’s light in the world. It is a feast that is warmly welcomed particularly at this time of year when many of us are longing for longer daylight hours and warmth.

Rituals often come from a human need, a need to mark an occasion, a moment, a season. They say something, about stopping and noticing. They are often simultaneously solemn, creative and celebratory – things that we all need in balance to continue the creator’s formation of us in our daily lives. May we all know the blessing of this feast as we begin February and mark this pivot moment between Christmas and Easter.

Services this weekend – 1st February

10am – St Marys – Creative Church 

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

6:30pm – St Marys – Choral Evensong for Candlemas

The Week Ahead

Mon 2nd Feb

10:30am – Tiny Tots, All Saints

Tue 3rd Feb

10:30am – M4T, St Mary’s Parish Rooms

Wed 4th Feb

9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer, All Saints

Thu 5th Feb

10:00am – Holy Communion, St Mary’s

Fri 6th Feb

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

Sat 7th Feb

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

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

Sun 8th Feb

8:00am – Holy Communion, All Saints

10:00am – Holy Communion, St Mary’s

10:30am – Messy Muddy Church-St. Valentine, All Saints

7:15pm – Generations, All Saints

Blessings

Revd Lizzie

Week beginning Sunday 18th January 2026

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info
Photo by Lee Young on Unsplash

The Church’s winter season is now over, although the weather outside may still be very wintry. The season begins with Advent, is centred on Christmas and concludes with Epiphany. Yes, some say that it should be thought to extend to Candlemas (February 2nd), but with Easter eggs already on sale in the supermarkets, I think Epiphany provides an appropriate seasonal ‘full stop’. But which of these three days is most significant? Of course, each one is important.

Advent Sunday kicks it all off and is best symbolized by a candle in the darkness. I always listen to Handel’s Messiah on this and the following days. This famously begins with the aria: “Comfort my people”, the opening words from Isaiah 40. We need comfort, and we are also called to offer comfort. Christmas day is the centre, around which so much happens: from Carol services, to mince pies and presents, to visits with family and neighbours. Just as a wide variety of people were drawn to Bethlehem at the birth of Jesus, so we also recognize the need to be with others, “bearing one another’s burdens, sharing one another’s joys”.

Yet, I could not do without Epiphany. There is so much in that story: the Magi have to travel far, and arrive late (just like many of us, I imagine, who only become aware of some deeper truths in our later years). The birth of Jesus is not merely a personal family affair – the Epiphany sets this birth in the context of world affairs, untrustworthy rulers and horrific killings (the massacre of the innocents, Matthew 2.16 – 18). The Epiphany reminds us that, though Jesus was born a Jew, he is given to all humankind – our faith can never be solely a matter of personal preferences, it requires us to look beyond.

But the saying I love most occurs in the second half of Matthew 2.12: “having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road”. The Magi had to go back home – but they were different and their route had to be different. Faith takes us onwards, even when our surroundings may be familiar. 2026 cannot merely be a replay of 2025. I may already have failed with my New Year Resolutions – but this verse encourages me to try afresh, to experiment, to seek out new paths and companions. All the Gospel readings for the Sundays of the Epiphany season (from now until the start of Lent) nudge us to look at what is familiar in fresh ways: how may God be revealing something now that we have not seen and tried before.

Revd Bob Cotton

This Sunday 18th January Services are

10am – Sung Holy Communion – St Mary’s

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

6:30pm – Epiphany Carols – St Mary’s

The Week Ahead

Mon 19th Jan

10:30am – Tiny Tots, All Saints

Tue 20th Jan

10:30am – M4T, St Mary’s Parish Rooms

Wed 21st Jan

9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer, All Saints

2:00pm – Bible Book Club, St Mary’s

Thu 22nd Jan

10:00am – Holy Communion, St Mary’s

Sat 24th Jan

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

Sun 25th Jan

8:00am – Holy Communion, All Saints

10:00am – Holy Communion, St Mary’s

10:30am – Café Church, All Saints

Week beginning Sunday 11th January 2026

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info

“I shall sustain you in courage and confidence”

Issiah 42:4
Photo by Oliver Cole on Unsplash

After the New Year has been celebrated, and we start to see the Christmas Trees being put out for collection January can feel like one of the longest months of the year and so I reach eagerly, like a hungry child, for these words at the start of 2026. And what a promise it is – The promise of God to sustain us in courage and confidence. 

The Church looks in different ways at “Who Jesus is” in the month of January, and this week it sees us dwell on the Baptism of Jesus. At the very start of his adult ministry Jesus is baptised in the river Jordan and he hears the voice of God from heaven. There are words of affirmation, ones which like Isaiah give him courage and confidence for his ministry. We all need times of feeling sustained, of being given courage and confidence in life’s journey and so I hope and pray that at this time, in this moment, we all are able to quieten the noise that so often surrounds us and hear God’s promise to us all.

Services for this Sunday – 11th January

8am – Holy Communion  – All Saints

10am – Sung Holy Communion – St Marys*

10:30am – Muddy Messy Church – St Mungo – All Saints

7:15pm – Generations

Coming up this week, we have:

Mon 12th Jan

10:30am – Tiny Tots, All Saints
Tue 13th Jan

10:30am – M4T, St Mary’s Parish Rooms
Wed 14th Jan

9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer, All Saints
Thu 15th Jan

10:00am – Holy Communion, St Mary’s
Fri 16th Jan

11:00am – Living After Loss, St Mary’s
Sat 17th Jan

12:00pm-1:30pm – Saturday Lunches, St Mary’s
Sun 18th Jan

10:00am – Holy Communion, St Mary’s
10:30am – Holy Communion, All Saints
6:30pm – Epiphany Carols, St Mary’s

*Please be aware that the heating is not working in St Marys Church currently, so do wrap up warm, bring a hot water bottle/blanket/cushion and we will do all that we can to provide warmth and welcome*

Muddy Messy Church start a year of looking at SAINTS – and begin with St Mungo – What do we know about this person? What can we learn about their lives – for a engaging way of looking at faith creatively then why not come and along and see what we can discover as a church.

In courage and confidence

Revd Lizzie​​

Week beginning Sunday 4th January 2026

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info

This Sunday we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, or as the 1662 Prayer Book puts it, the Manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles. This name is used to emphasise that, right from the start, the the gospel tells us that Jesus is for all people. Many artists took up  this theme by depicting Jesus’ visitors coming from the three extremes of the known world. One was from Europe, one from Asia or Arabia and one was from Sub-Saharan Africa. Although this is a contradiction to the actual Biblical text, which says that they came from “the east”, it reminded people that Jesus came for everyone, including those that did not look like them, think like them or behave like them.

Historically, the Church of England in Bristol does not have a good record, when it comes to welcoming people who are different. Today, we need to make sure that we extend the love of God to all, whatever their circumstances or background. Differences of race, social class, disability and sexuality should not come between us. As Paul put it in his letter to the church in Galatia, “There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28 NRSVue).

This Sunday we will have an opportunity to think a little more about Epiphany and its meaning at the 10:30 am Holy Communion at All Saints and the 6:30 pm Evensong at St Mary’s. In the morning at St Mary’s, there is creative church. This gives the following services for this Sunday, 4th January:

10:00 amSt Mary’sCreative Church
10:30 amAll SaintsHoly Communion
  6:30 pmSt Mary’sEvensong for Epiphany

This week we have our normal pattern of services with Celtic Morning Prayer on Wednesday at All Saints and Holy Communion at St Mary’s on Thursday. Next Sunday has our normal services for the second Sunday of the month with Messy/Muddy church at All Saints and Holy Communion at St Mary’s.

Wednesday 7th9.00 am All SaintsCeltic Morning Prayer
Thursday 8th10:00 am St Mary’sHoly Communion
Sunday 11th8:00 am All SaintsHolly Communion (said)

 		10:00 am St Mary’sHoly Communion

 		10:30 am All SaintsMessy/Muddy Church


Wishing you a happy New Year. May God bless you and all you do in 2026.

Yours in Christ

Mark

Week beginning Sunday 21st December 2025

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info

A Very Nearly Happy Christmas

As Christmas draws closer, this weekend marks the turning point from Advent to Christmas. The weekend sees Carols around the Yew Tree (All Saints) and Carols by Candlelight (St Mary’s) start to move us from Advent to Christmas. Schools have broken up for the holiday and many people are now travelling like the magi did across field and mountain to be with family and friends. If you have people visiting then do extend our warmest invitation to our worship at Christmas to them as well as yourselves.

As we get ready for those final preparations that then I wanted to share with you a poem I am fond of at this time of year from Malcolm Guite – O Emmanuel –  I have always found it helpfully reflective on why we celebrate with Joy, Love and Hope this Christmas

O come, O come, and be our God-with-us
O long-sought With-ness for a world without,
O secret seed, O hidden spring of light.
Come to us Wisdom, come unspoken Name
Come Root, and Key, and King, and holy Flame,
O quickened little wick so tightly curled,
Be folded with us into time and place,
Unfold for us the mystery of grace
And make a womb of all this wounded world.
O heart of heaven beating in the earth,
O tiny hope within our hopelessness
Come to be born, to bear us to our birth,
To touch a dying world with new-made hands
And make these rags of time our swaddling bands

​​Services this Christmas are as below. Look forward to seeing you at both All Saints and St Mary’s.

Sunday 21st December

10am – St Mary’s – Sung Holy Communion

10.30am – All Saints – Holy Communion with Carols

6.30pm – St Mary’s – Carols by Candlelight

Wednesday 24th December – Christmas Eve

4pm – Family Carols with Christingle -St Mary’s

7.30pm – Carols by Candlelight – All Saints

11.30pm – Midnight Mass – St Mary’s

Thursday 25th December – Christmas Day

10am – Family Communion with Carols – St Mary’s

10.30am – All Age Communion with Carols – All Saints

Sunday 28th December

8am – Holy Communion  – All Saints

10am – Holy Communion with Carols – St Mary’s

10.30am  – Cafe Church – All Saints

Blessings

Lizzie

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