WELCOME TO ST MARY'S AND ALL SOULS
Read the Bishop Of Rochester's Easter Message in our monthly Newsletter |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
St Mary's and All Souls Services We will post any revisions to services here and on our Facebook and Twitter feeds: https://www.facebook.com/StMarysAndAllSouls |
|
|
|
St Mary's and All Souls latest Newsletter |
|
|
|
PCC Papers You can now download minutes and other PCC documents from the PCC page |
|
|
|
Food Bank latest needs: https://bromleyborough.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/donate-food/ *PLEASE DON'T SEND US FROZEN OR CHILLED ITEMS AS WE DON'T HAVE THE CORRECT STORAGE FOR IT AND IT SPOILS BEFORE WE CAN DISTRIBUTE IT* WE'VE GOT PLENTY OF PASTA, CEREAL & BISCUITS
Thank you!
Judith Simmonds will be taking the Parish contributions towards the end of the month so please drop your donations into our box in the porch before then. |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
In need of help? Call |
|
|
|
Rev. Susan writes:
He is Risen. Alleluia! By the time you are reading this it should be Easter weekend or at least Holy Week. Once more we have journeyed with Jesus on his last few days leading to his crucifixion and resurrection.
I wonder how the disciples felt; confused, grief-stricken, angry, depressed, fearful?
Well to quote a well-known phrase “You never know what is around the corner”.
After all, have you ever put your trust in someone only to be let down so completely and unexpectedly that it shakes your whole existence? I hope not. But if you have, you may have an idea of how the women who found Jesus’ tomb empty on the first Easter day around 2000 years ago felt that day.
But remember too Mary Magdalen’s reaction when she realises that the “gardener” is in fact the risen Jesus – she exclaims “Rabboni” and runs off to tell the others “I have seen the Lord!”
No one living through that first Easter had any idea what was around the corner for them – from the Pharisees who hoped their troubles were over as Jesus’ body was buried – to the Roman soldiers guarding the tomb, to the disciples who moved from devastation to confusion then to delight in the space of a few days.
But Jesus’ resurrection was not the end of the disciples’ problems. Not everything became straight forward and easy for them. Life remained as unpredictable and at times as risky, as it had been before.
What changes at the resurrection for the disciples is their confidence in Jesus, the sense of realising that they had been in the presence of someone so special. And therefore, that what he had been teaching was not just a good idea but the way to live – the life of love and forgiveness, for them and for everyone.
And so they followed in Jesus’ footsteps – trusting when things were difficult and coping when things went wrong.
None of us know what lies around the corner for us. But, as Christians we have the confidence that whatever we face we do so in the company of the risen Christ and follow in his footsteps. An invitation Jesus offers to us all.
Happy Easter