Vicar's Letter February 2010	Archive
Jayne writes: Dear Friends As I write we are looking forward to the Confirmation Service on Sunday. It has been a joy and a privilege to share with Nina and David in their preparation and I know that many of you are coming along to support and pray for them as they are confirmed by Bishop Willie. For Nina her First Communion will be on the feast of Candlemas – the day when we recall the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple as a baby, marking the end of the Christmas/Epiphany season. We then turn our faces towards Lent and Holy Week as we make our journey with Jesus towards the joyful unfolding of Easter. Already snow drops have been seen and I have been glad to receive gifts of tulips, a reminder that Spring will come, and how ready we shall be after all our wintry weather! Lent, also called God’s Springtime, gives us an opportunity once again to step back and take stock, to reflect upon the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how we are living our lives. To help us in this there will be a Lent study course; the one I have chosen for us comes from USPG (the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel). The title is: ‘The Well is deep’ and the course, for small groups, looks at the story of the woman at the well from John chapter 4.verses 5-42 and the work of the Anglican church in Ghana. It is designed to help users delve deeper into the meaning of mission for today. Each week the course explores, in turn: ‘What is mission? Where does mission happen? Who does mission? Why do we do mission? And, finally, How do we do mission? The course also highlights how the church in Ghana is responding to God’s love in practical and life changing ways. The booklet that accompanies the course is free for participants and I have copies available for you to look at before the course begins during the week beginning 21st February. There will be two groups so that you may choose the most convenient one for you and I shall be leading them. Each week there will be one at 8 p.m. on a Tuesday in someone’s home and one at 11 a.m. on a Wednesday in the Parish Room. There are five sessions altogether so the course will be finished during the week before Holy Week. Look out for the sign up list in church. If you have not tried one of these courses before I would invite you to give it serious consideration; taking part in something like this can be very helpful for your own spiritual journey and is also a way of sharing in fellowship with other members of our church family. Members of the Roman Catholic Church in Knutsford are once again welcome to join us for the course on Wednesday mornings so do spread the word. Lent is traditionally a time for giving something up, but it can also be a time for taking something on, attending a course or reading a Lent book for example. If groups are not for you there are of course other ways of keeping Lent as a special time. I have recently come across a Christian Aid leaflet called ‘Count your Blessings’ described as a life changing experience for Lent. Each day of Lent there is a piece of information given and then a suggested action. For example on Thursday 18th February we have the following: Wasted food costs the average family Ł420 a year. Give 42p for each type of food you binned this week. ...and on Wednesday 10th March: Ł1.75 could buy a school bag for a child in Zambia. Give this sum if you’ve ever had the privilege of wearing a school uniform. Copies of this leaflet will be available in church for anyone wishing to take the challenge! Perhaps an article could be written for the magazine telling of your Lenten journey – or maybe a book review to encourage others to read a book you have found helpful! I wish you a happy springtime, a holy and blessed Lent.

Vicar's Letter February 2010

Archive

Jayne writes:

Dear Friends
As I write we are looking forward to the Confirmation Service on Sunday. It has been a joy and a privilege to share with Nina and David in their preparation and I know that many of you are coming along to support and pray for them as they are confirmed by Bishop Willie. For Nina her First Communion will be on the feast of Candlemas – the day when we recall the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple as a baby, marking the end of the Christmas/Epiphany season. We then turn our faces towards Lent and Holy Week as we make our journey with Jesus towards the joyful unfolding of Easter. Already snow drops have been seen and I have been glad to receive gifts of tulips, a reminder that Spring will come, and how ready we shall be after all our wintry weather!

Lent, also called God’s Springtime, gives us an opportunity once again to step back and take stock, to reflect upon the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how we are living our lives. To help us in this there will be a Lent study course; the one I have chosen for us comes from USPG (the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel). The title is: ‘The Well is deep’ and the course, for small groups, looks at the story of the woman at the well from John chapter 4.verses 5-42 and the work of the Anglican church in Ghana. It is designed to help users delve deeper into the meaning of mission for today. Each week the course explores, in turn: ‘What is mission? Where does mission happen? Who does mission? Why do we do mission? And, finally, How do we do mission? The course also highlights how the church in Ghana is responding to God’s love in practical and life changing ways.
The booklet that accompanies the course is free for participants and I have copies available for you to look at before the course begins during the week beginning 21st February. There will be two groups so that you may choose the most convenient one for you and I shall be leading them. Each week there will be one at 8 p.m. on a Tuesday in someone’s home and one at 11 a.m. on a Wednesday in the Parish Room. There are five sessions altogether so the course will be finished during the week before Holy Week. Look out for the sign up list in church.

If you have not tried one of these courses before I would invite you to give it serious consideration; taking part in something like this can be very helpful for your own spiritual journey and is also a way of sharing in fellowship with other members of our church family. Members of the Roman Catholic Church in Knutsford are once again welcome to join us for the course on Wednesday mornings so do spread the word. Lent is traditionally a time for giving something up, but it can also be a time for taking something on, attending a course or reading a Lent book for example.
If groups are not for you there are of course other ways of keeping Lent as a special time. I have recently come across a Christian Aid leaflet called ‘Count your Blessings’ described as a life changing experience for Lent. Each day of Lent there is a piece of information given and then a suggested action. For example on Thursday 18th February we have the following: Wasted food costs the average family Ł420 a year. Give 42p for each type of food you binned this week.
...and on Wednesday 10th March: Ł1.75 could buy a school bag for a child in Zambia. Give this sum if you’ve ever had the privilege of wearing a school uniform.

Copies of this leaflet will be available in church for anyone wishing to take the challenge!

Perhaps an article could be written for the magazine telling of your Lenten journey – or maybe a book review to encourage others to read a book you have found helpful!

I wish you a happy springtime, a holy and blessed Lent.