Ipswich Round

This is the online version of the circuit newsletter. The Ipswich Round is now issued each week via email – you can view the current edition by clicking here.

Past issues of the print version can be
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The Path to Perfection : an examination and restatement of John Wesley’s doctrine of Christian Perfection

The Path to Perfection : an examination and restatement of John Wesley’s doctrine of Christian Perfection by W E Sangster.  Epworth Press, 1957 (The New Lincoln Library, vol. 11).  209 pages Available secondhand By all accounts this is an excellent book which received high praise from all quarters, religious and secular, when first published in 1943. The fact…

Lectionary Reflections – Sunday 17th May 2026

7th Sunday of Easter – (Sunday after Ascension Day)       Year A                        17th May 2026 Lectionary Readings: Acts 1 v6-14;     Psalm 68 v1-10, 32-35;     1 Peter 4 v12-14; 5 v6-11.            John 17 v1-11                    Questions, questions. Luke has two versions of the Ascension. Why? At the end of his gospel, Luke says Jesus blessed his…

Lectionary Reflections – Sunday 10th May 2026

6th Sunday of Easter                                    Year A                                                             10th May 2026 Lectionary Readings; Acts 17 v22-31; Psalm 66 v8-20; 1 Peter 3 v13-22; John 14 v15-21. We are not orphans, we are children of a loving God. In the passage from Acts, Paul is telling his sceptical audience that there is only one true God;…

Lectionary Reflections – Sunday 3rd May 2026

5th Sunday of Easter                        Year A                                                            3rd May 2026 Lectionary Readings; Acts 7 v55-60; Psalm 31 v1-5, 15-16; 1 Peter 2 v2-10; John 14 v1-14. Do we need a visual aid to explain a mystery? In the hymn, popular with children of all ages, ‘Our God is a great big God’, (Singing the Faith…

Lectionary Reflections – Sunday 26th April 2026

4th Sunday of Easter                                     Year A                                                            26th April 2026 Lectionary Readings:  Acts 2 v42-47;     Psalm 23;     1 Peter 2 v19-25;     John 10 v1-10.        Whose ‘voice’ do you trust? In the passage from Acts we are told ‘that they spent their time learning from the apostles, and they were like family to each other.’…

Lectionary Reflections – Sunday 19th April 2026

The Third Sunday of Easter                        Year A                                                19th April 2026 Lectionary readings: Acts 2 v14a, 36-41;      Psalm 116 v1-4, 12-19;       1 Peter 1 v17-23;        Luke 24 v13-35. Strangers no more. In Luke’s account, two disciples on the way to the village of Emmaus, are joined by a  ‘stranger’ who they later discover…

Lectionary Reflections – Sunday 12th April 2026

Second Sunday of Easter                              Year A                                                 12th April 2026 Lectionary Readings:  Acts 2 v14a, 22-32;    Psalm 16;    1 Peter 1 v3-9;    John 20 v19-31 Faith in Jesus leads to true life. The readings this week open with Luke’s account of Peter’s speech to a crowd on the Day of Pentecost. Peter, accompanied by the…

Lectionary Reflections – Sunday 5th April 2026

Easter Day                                                     Year A                                               5th April 2026 Lectionary readings: Jeremiah 31 v1-6,      Psalm 118 v1-2, 14-24;      Colossians 3 v1-4;      Matthew 18 v1-10. God keeps his promises. The prophet Jeremiah was active before and during the time of the Babylonian invasion. Jeremiah wrote, Some time ago, the Lord appeared to me and told me to…

Lectionary Reflections – Sunday 29th March 2026

Palm Sunday                                                 Year A                                     29th March 2026 Lectionary readings: Isaiah 50 v4-9a;      Psalm 31 v9-16;      Philippians 2 v5-11;      Matthew 27 v11-54. Majestic humility. The (second) prophet Isaiah was preaching during the time of exile in Babylonia. The OT reading, appears to be related to an individual, possibly the prophet himself. It could also relate…