WELCOME TO ST MARY'S AND ALL SOULS
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St Mary’s and All Souls Easter Services: Maundy Thursday 2nd April - 20.00 Benefice Holy Communion at St Mary’sGood Friday 3rd April - 10.00 Devotional service at St Mary’sEaster Sunday 5th April - 09.30 Holy Communion at St Mary’s. 11.15 Holy Communion at All Souls |
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Take a look at the churches in the Benefice from the air |
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St Mary's and All Souls Services We will post any revisions to services here and on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/StMarysAndAllSouls |
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St Mary's and All Souls latest Newsletter |
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PCC Papers You can now download minutes and other PCC documents from the PCC page |
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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. |
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The Church Of England Daily Prayer |
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Rev Susan writes:
It is officially Spring. Visit almost any pond and ducklings can be spotted. Our garden is gradually becoming less of a muddy bog and even has a couple of very early bluebells coming through. New life is all around us. This was made even more pertinent when I was recently reading an update on the Sycamore Gap tree. The tree hit the headlines when it was illegally felled in September 2023. It was at least 100 years old and considered a landmark feature, deemed to be of considerable importance.
Following its felling the stump was assessed as being “healthy” it was thought the tree could possibly regrow in coppiced form, although it would take a few years to develop into even a small tree and over a century to get anywhere close to what it was. Seeds were collected from the tree which were used to propagate new saplings. Now the National Trust have cultivated 49 saplings, standing at about 2 metres tall, which have begun to be planted across the UK as a part of the trees of hope scheme. A real sign of life out of what was initially thought to be dead.
As Christians this draws us to thinking of how in Jesus the creation of new life from the old was very much quicker. Of course, these are the events that we build up to during Lent and Holy Week, and then remember over the Easter weekend. For new life to come, there firstly had to be an agonising death for Jesus on the first Good Friday. The name Good Friday could seem completely wrong when we think about the pain that Jesus went through – not only physical pain, but the pain of betrayal, abandonment by his followers and (for a brief time) separation from his Father. It is only when we think about the whole story that we see that this was, indeed, Good Friday.
We aren’t told much about the first Easter Saturday in the Bible except that it was the Sabbath and so nothing was done. But we can try to imagine what the disciples might have been feeling. Probably despair, that the one they believed had come to save them had suffered such pain and humiliation, in what seemed like a total defeat. Together with intense guilt, as they had all, at the very least, run away and left Jesus to die. Did they understand all the promises that Jesus had made about rising from the dead?
These promises certainly didn’t seem to be in the mind of Jesus’ followers on Easter Day. When they met with Jesus that day, and for many days afterwards, they frequently failed to understand what was going on or even to recognise Him. Maybe we shouldn’t judge them too harshly for this. Jesus rising again was the most extraordinary event in human history. It was also the event that assures his followers that they too can have eternal life – that our hope isn’t just for this life but eternal life with Jesus.
Surely that is the greatest message of New Life we remember at Easter for ‘He is risen, Alleluia!’
Reverend Susan
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