The completion of the 50 days of Easter, marks the beginning of the next chapter for us all. Come to this great feast and let us ask for God’s Holy Spirit to be our light and life.
Please come and pray for the life of our parishes. This will take place in the Canterbury Room at St Thomas’. Coffee and croissants from 8:15am. Followed by prayer for the life of our churches. Finished by 9.30am. Please do join us.
This vital occasion to help us to play our part will give encouragement that what we eat makes a huge difference. 9.30am: United Benefice Service in St Thomas’ with live jazz, Food glorious Food. And Bread of Heaven. Only with God’s help can we change our hearts, and then our ways and hopes.
11.00am-2.00pm in the Rectory Garden: Bring a picnic or buy food and drink in the garden. There will be live music, stalls and activities for all the family, to inspire and encourage. 12noon-1:00pm: Special Question Time... in the marquee with visiting experts facing our questions and sharing their insights. They will guide us in discovering what a difference our eating habits make to the world and how we can all have a positive impact on climate change and biodiversity. Click here to book your place in the big tent and to send in your questions to the experts.
Thank you… to all those who made the group from Adventure Plus so welcome. They were canoeing from Witney to Westminster over 6 days to raise funds for their programme of activities in Clanfield (https://www.adventureplus.org.uk/).
How Can I Keep From Singing! The latest concert by a new choir will be held in St Thomas’ on Saturday 25th May. VentiQuattro (24) was established about 18 months ago, made up of auditioned and semi-professional singers, with a love of singing a capella music in small groups. We’ve tackled a mix of renaissance, classical and contemporary music in our first two concerts. In our concert on 25 May, we will showcase why US composers right now are among some of the best for classical a capella.
Piano Recital at St Mary’s, “Dances with Dreams” A very enthusiastic audience was treated to a delightful piano recital by Janet Pound in St Mary’s last Sunday. Janet performed an enchanting and, as always, very well chosen program with her usual outstanding ability and light and very skilful playing. Janet played pieces from a wide range of composers including Carbonelli, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Chopin, Debussy and Grieg. She also treated the audience to John Ireland’s the Holy Boy, which she first played on holiday, aged 10, when everyone else went to the beach and she was specially allowed to spend her time playing the piano in the hotel and has been a favourite of hers ever since. My own favourite was Albeniz Tango in D Opus 165 No 2. Like all Albeniz pieces it was written for piano although usually played on guitar now. It went well with the sunny afternoon and brought Spain into St Mary’s in a slow romantic Tango which was the Spanish style of Tango of the time. Thank you to all the volunteers who help with these concerts, especially John without whom neither they nor the delicious teas following would happen, Elaine who, among many other tasks, ably page turned for this concert, Rosemary and Linda for all their quiet work and to all the cake making volunteers! Stella
This week we are asked to pray
Prayers for this week Heavenly Father, we pray for an outpouring of your Holy Spirit to guide and invigorate the work of your Church in our day and age. We pray for a renewed vision of what it means to be the Church today, and for the grace and courage to work towards making that vision reality. May your Holy Spirit stream down upon us, like Northern Lights in the darkness.
Heavenly Father, your Holy Spirit has always inspired Christians to work for a better world. We pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are involved in improving conditions among the poor of the world, and in war-torn nations where lives have been turned upside down; may the Holy Spirit guide and encourage them. We pray, too, for those who strive to make things better in our own country – for those who volunteer with food banks and charities that help those in need. May Christians never lose sight of the vision which inspired them. May their example inspire others to learn more about Jesus, and your vision for the world. May your Holy Spirit stream down upon us, like Northern Lights in the darkness.
Heavenly Father, we pray that your Holy Spirit, the Comforter, will be with those who are in need of light in their darkness, warmth in the coldness of an indifferent world, healing for mental or physical pain, and encouragement to go forward. Please lead us to know when a kind word or deed might make a difference to their day. May your Holy Spirit stream down upon us, like Northern Lights in the darkness.
Heavenly Father, may we never let go of our ability to dream in the power of the Holy Spirit. May we never be afraid of the visions we behold; may we never dismiss them. We pray that the Holy Spirit will inspire us to strive for what we see in dreams and visions, and to make them reality. May your Holy Spirit stream down upon us, like Northern Lights in the darkness. Amen
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.