Dear Siblings in Christ,
Holy Week and Easter may still be a couple of weeks away, but Spring has arrived. The daffodils in my garden are blooming. In our neighbourhood, the magnolia trees are looking beautiful. And the gorse on Rushmore Heath is bright yellow. Easter resurrection is in the air with its hope and promise. As the flowers sing their joyous praise to God, I found the following prayer written by Christine Sine and inspired by Psalm 96 and 148:
Creator God
Majestic maker of all things,
Sculptor and architect of the entire universe,
We sit in awe and wonder of your love.
We listen to the breath of earth and song of heaven,
And join with the Son of God and child of earth,
To add our human voices to creation’s song.
Let the skies sing for joy,
And the earth join the chorus.
Listen to the oceans thunder,
And watch the fields echo with ecstatic praise.
Let the weeds in pavement cracks shout out,
Until every swaying tree of forest,
And city street join in,
And together we lift our songs,
Of joyous praise to God.
The contrast between the despair of Good Friday and the hope of Easter Sunday is reflected in the despair that has filled us through the last two years of pandemic, with the escalating warming of our planet, and now with the war raging in Ukraine. Yet there is hope and I look out now on a world that is teeming with vibrant new life that I cannot imagine that the despair is forever. We live today in anticipation of this new hope and new life and God’s beautiful creation seems to be announcing the way. We are part of a long and complex collective story, a work in progress, and as people of faith we believe that all people are capable of profound change. So, use the time as you journey through Holy Week to ask what God is seeking to change in you, and then open yourself at Easter to the new things that are just waiting to burst forth from the tomb.
ZOOM coffee morning (contact us for the code) is on Wednesdays at 10 a.m.
Wednesday Coffee Morning from 10 a.m. to 11.30 at Museum Street resumes on 27th April.
Friday Coffee Morning from 10 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. at Chantry.
Friday Tea & Toast from 9.15 to 10.30 at Landseer Road; mid-week activities (Toddlers, Choir and Craft Club) are running during term term.
Easter Worship at Landseer Road is Café Church.
Here is April’s preaching plan (*=communion, L=Livestream). Or download the plan for the whole circuit.
| Chantry 9.30 a.m. | Museum St 10.45 a.m. | Landseer Rd 11 a.m. | Video from 6 a.m. | |
| 3rd April | Grimshaw | Pell – L | No Service | Pell |
| 10th April | D Sawyer | Welbourn | *Pell | Welbourn |
| GOOD FRIDAY 15th April | — | 9 a.m. Pell | — | Tenebrae |
| EASTER 17th April | 10 a.m. D Sawyer | *Pell – L | 10.30 a.m. Cafe Worship | Pell |
| 24th April | *Pell | Welbourn | Rokobuli | Jacobs |
The April issue of our joint magazine for the three churches has been published. Read it here.
May you have a blessed Holy Week.
Happy Easter!
–Pastor Joan
Rev. Joan Pell
Joan’s Jottings are written to the churches at Museum Street, Landseer Road and Chantry where Joan is the minister, and a monthly summary is shared here for all to read.