Dear Friends, As we journey through the season of Lent, it’s often a season when we strip things back. We perhaps try to give up some treats or luxuries we normally enjoy. We perhaps try to immerse ourselves in some spiritual disciplines like Bible reading or prayer or to attend some special services during this […]
Dear Friends, The season of Lent is almost upon us. Lent is a season I always approach with a mixture of joy and apprehension. It’s a huge privilege to journey through that season with the idea of journeying with Jesus towards the Cross. It’s a season for deepening our spiritual lives with a mixture of […]
Dear Friends, I had a lovely message with a photo from a friend of mine on Facebook recently. She had a lovely panoramic view of the fields around her house and the sky was darkening although there was sufficient light to take in the view. The photo was taken at 5.30pm and she simply said […]
Dear Friends, Could I begin by saying thank you to all those who worked so hard to make our Advent and Christmas celebrations so special. Thank you to Mark and the choir, to all our visiting speakers and those who worked so hard on the technology team and behind the scenes to make sure services […]
Dear Friends, We have reached that point on the calendar when many people who travel to work are leaving in darkness and returning home in darkness. We feel a drop in the temperatures and the leaves are falling at a rate when we find it hard to keep up with them. In the gloom and […]
Dear Friends, One of the key aspects of November in our parish life is ‘remembering’.On the first Sunday in November, we remember, with thanksgiving, those who were connected with our parish in some way and have died over the course of the past year. On the second Sunday in November, we remember those who gave […]
Dear Friends, We are really excited to announce our continuing plans to resume some of our regular parish activities and organisations in October as we work our way through the risk assessments we need to complete. During the past month the Sunday School, the Boys’ Brigade and Anchor Boys, Messy Church and St. Finnian’s Toddlers […]
Dear Friends, September normally marks the return to all sorts of activities and organisations in parish life. People look forward to seeing friends they haven’t seen for a while and immersing themselves in those activities that are important to them. For the second consecutive year, as these notes go to print, we can’t say with […]
Dear Friends, As this month’s magazine goes to print, the country continues to make its way cautiously out of lockdown. We see restrictions easing on different sectors of society and we are grateful in the first instance for the successful rolling out of the vaccination programme. Many of our parishioners have received one, if not […]
Dear Friends, Over the past year and a bit we seem to find ourselves constantly navigating all sorts of changes because of the pandemic. Initially there was a big scramble to try to record services and the re-creation of a system of pastoral care to ensure people stayed in touch and supported one another in […]