Dear Brothers and SistersThis Sunday afternoon at Exeter Cathedral our two churches will formally be presented with our Eco Church Bronze awards during the Eco Church Celebration. Paul Jakeman and I will be representing St Margaret’s and Ken and Sandra Greedy will be representing St Luke’s. It’s a time to celebrate what’s been achieved so far and to encourage us in the next steps we can take. If you would like to come along to support us there’s still time to book your free ticket https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ecochurch-celebration-tickets-789190007557Sunday is going to be a packed day as we also have Open the Story in the afternoon at St Luke’s and Evensong at St Margaret’s. It seems particular appropriate that for this Eco Church weekend Sunday’s gospel at our 10am services is ‘I am the true vine’ (John 15.1-8). Jesus promises that if we abide in him and he in us we will bear much fruit. The antidote to ‘Eco-anxiety’ is not to ignore what is happening but to play our part in combatting pollution and climate change while remaining rooted in the peace and love of Christ.God bless you this weekMaggieWhile Louise is on sabbatical, the principal points of contact are as follows:Gill Yates, St. Margaret’s: gyates@uwclub.netCaryll Ingerslev, St. Luke’s: caryll_i@yahoo.co.ukPlease send all contributions for the newsletter material for A Church Near You to Tony Raven: tony@theravens.orgto Gill by the end of Thursday andServices and calendar for the week Sunday 28th April 10.00 a.m. 10.00 a.m. 3.00 p.m. 6.30 p.m. Family friendly Communion Morning Worship Open The Story Evensong St. Margaret’s St. Luke’s Forest School St. Margaret’s Monday 29th April 10.00 a.m. 7.00 p.m. Take 5 Compline St. Margaret’s Zoom Tuesday 30th April 9.00 a.m. Morning Prayer St. Margaret’s Wednesday 1st May 10.00 a.m. 1.15 p.m. Morning Worship Lunchtime concert Zoom St. Margaret’s Thursday 2nd May 10.00 a.m. Mini Messy Church St. Margaret’s Friday 3rd May 9.00 a.m. 3.00 p.m. Morning Prayer Funeral St. Margaret’s St. Margaret’s Saturday 4th May 8.00 a.m. 3.00 p.m. Prayer Breakfast Wedding St. Margaret’s St. Margaret’s Sunday 5th May 10.00 a.m. 10.00 a.m. Holy Communion Holy Communion St. Margaret’s St. Luke’s The Zoom links and meeting IDs for all the Zoom events are on our pages on ACNY (A Church Near You)St. Luke’s church is now open on Wednesday afternoons between 2.00 and 4.00.All are welcome...To look aroundTo sit quietly for a whileTo light a prayer candleTo prayNews and NoticesElectoral Roll – The APCM for St. Margaret’s will be on Wednesday 8th May. A copy of names on the current electoral roll is available in church. There is a concern that there are some discrepancies. Please check the list and let Paul Jakeman know:1. If your name is not there and you think it should be.2. If there are names there that shouldn’t be ( e.g. people who have moved away).3. If you would like to be added to the electoral roll. There is a form to fill in.Before the APCM, at 6.45, Annie Jeffries will do a presentation on Anna Chaplaincy. Anna Chaplains offer spiritual care in later life. There may be people in our community who would like to train as an Anna Chaplain. This is a chance to find out all about it. All are welcome. Refreshments from 6.45 p.m. with the talk starting at 7pm. The APCM will then follow on at about 7.30 p.m.. Further refreshments will follow the APCM!PCC If anyone would like to stand for the PCC, please let Gill or Paul know.Lunchtime Concerts Wednesdays, 1-15 – 2.00 p.m. May 1st - The Wood Farm Wind Quintet play music from Baroque to ModernSaturday 27th April at 7.30. Papagena, the vocal quintet, will be giving a concert in St. Margaret’s: “Love, Legends and Lullabies”. Tickets £15. Under 16s free. Refreshments!Eco event at Exeter Cathedral THIS SUNDAY!!Sunday 28th April 12.30 – 4.00 p.m.Maggie is going and would love people to join her! She is catching the 12.11 train.“You are invited to our special event. Organised by our creation care team, it will celebrate the eco church system in Devon and all that has been achieved so far. Dave Bookless from A Rocha will be sharing a message and churches around the diocese will be sharing stories. Come along and be encouraged to take action!”Saturday May 4th – Kit Reynolds, from St. Luke’s is abseiling from the top of Exeter Cathedral’s Norman North Tower to raise funds for the Cathedral. His sponsorship link is below.https://www.justgiving.com/page/kit-reynolds-abseilHe would welcome any sponsorship!Saturday 11th May - You are invited to come along to St. Luke’s Church Rooms to enjoy a ‘Big Brekkie’ to raise money for Christian Aid. Revd. Tony Raven and his wife, Dorothy, have once again offered to be chief cook and assistant. Breakfast will be served between 9 and 10am, and 10 and 11am. It would be very helpful to know when people are coming, so please let Jill Allen know to which ‘sitting’ you will be coming. You can sign up to which sitting you would like your brekkie, on a list which will be at the back of the church, or you can contact Jill by e mail -g.m.allen@hotmail.co.uk. – or phone 01392 271458.Pentecost Celebration Exeter Cathedral, Sunday 19 May at 6pmWe're delighted that, for the first time in 5 years, there's a Thy Kingdom Come celebration service at Exeter Cathedral on Pentecost Sunday. Prayer and worship will be led by Bishop Jackie and Bishop James, with music led by Andy Flannagan and a talk from Ruth Valerio. We hope that our worship together will draw you closer to God, and inspire you to pray for God’s kingdom here in Devon. We would like to make this a Mission Community event and are joining together for a picnic on the Cathedral Green before the worship. If you would like to join us, please give your name to Reverend Maggie Stirling-Troy or Caryll IngerslevPlease let us know you are coming as Maggie and Caryll will book our free tickets on EventbriteExmouth Food BankSupplies We Are Short Of This Month - April 2024 ·Tins of baked beans & spaghetti hoops·Cereals·Stir in pasta /pasta bake sauces·Tins or packets of soup·Tinned fruit·Peanut butter·Jars of jam·Coffee·Tea bags·Packets of biscuits·Shampoo & conditionerThe Exmouth Foodbank urgently needs bags for life/large plastic bags to enable people to carry their food parcels home. Thank you.Many thanks for your support. We simply couldn’t do this without you!Thank you in advance for your generosity!For further information email: info@exmouthfoodbank.org 07787758511Please find the newsletters for St. Margaret’s and St. Luke’s attached.PrayersFor those who are ill or in need of our prayers:Lucy, Pauline, Jill and Adrian, Michael, Kirsten, Chris Whitehead, Fay, Tony Bradford, Marlene Gardner, Pam Wormald, Mary, Peter, John Heal, Gail MillerHousebound or in nursing/care homes:Alfred Wonnacott, Janet Mutter, Georgina LearPlease pray for Anne Plested supporting the work of Bethlehem Bible College, and Ben and Katy Ray in Tanzania, St. Luke’s CMS mission linkRecently DepartedJean RileyAnniversariesBert Twigg, Bruce DoustSylvia Shortis, Peter Mathewson, Joan Wheeler, Anne Davies, Angus LuscombeGospel Readings for the coming weekSunday 28th April John 15: 1-8Monday 29th April John 14: 21-26Tuesday 30th April John 14: 27 - endWednesday 1st May John 14: 1-4Thursday 2nd May John 15: 9-11Friday 3rd May John 15: 12-17Saturday 4th May John 15: 18-21Sunday 5th May John 15: 9-17Collect and reading for Sunday 28th AprilAlmighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ have overcome death and opend to us the gate of everlasting life: grant that, as by your grace going before us you put into our minds good desires, so by your continual help we may bring them to good effect; through Jesus Christ our risen Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.John 15.1-8Jesus the True Vine ‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
Feedback from some who were present.High congratulations all round for pulling off a gargantuan effort last night! I thought it worked extremely well as a piece of music and dramatic effect. Indeed, I, and others, found it quite moving. What a piece of creativity!I'm sure the whole project will be a lasting benefit to your singers and congregation. Bravo!I just wanted to say thank you for last nights rendition of the passion - an amazing effort as always - thank you to everyone involved for all the hard work which went in to this. Please pass on our congratulations to the choir.What a wonderful evening as well as the music so many people said it is such an emotional way to tell the story of this week. We really enjoyed the audience participation. There must have been such a huge preparation by you for the evening ,not only rehearsing the choir and soloists but the administration of the congregation, music sheets etc. I hope you were pleased with the response from us all. Andrew as usual was totally unfazed by the task and Matthew had a hard task well done. I just wanted to say thank you once again for a wonderfully moving St Matthew Passion last night. The emphasis on the story and the sense of all being involved through the chorales was extremely powerful.
As we all pray for peace in Israel and Palestine, please do keep alert to the work of Bethlehem Bible college whom we have been supporting for several years now.All of us at the Bethlehem Institute of Peace and Justice have been shocked and horrified at the ongoing war in Gaza and the unimaginable suffering of the Gazan people. The magnitude of the destruction is beyond comprehension. A thriving city has been destroyed, as well as thousands of innocent lives, the most significant percentage being women and children. The murder of many Israelis was a tragedy, but Israel's response has been beyond excessive. A ceasefire must occur so that the indiscriminate attack on schools and hospitals where thousands of Gazans are sheltered is stopped. Instead of trivializing the need for peace and justice studies, the magnitude of the destruction is a statement of the fruit of the neglect of peacemaking and justice studies. Therefore, we are pressing ahead with all our programs at the BIPJ. Every semester peacemakers from an array of nations from Japan to Tanzania to Belgium and Canada are pursuing graduate-level studies with us for either credit or audit. Anthony Khair, a talented student at Bethlehem Bible College, says of his studies with the BIPJ this semester: "After living through this war in Palestine. I've realized more than ever how important it is to study peacemaking and justice. Therefore, I am eager to continue taking the BIPJ's spring semester course to have a broader knowledge of how to deal with injustices in our context and internationally." Our BIPJ course participants have established deep relationships with each other. The cohort from our two-week residential Summer Intensive last May has continued their conversations about peacemaking and met in live Zoom sessions during the war. The BIPJ is a peacemaking community. Our conviction at the BIPJ is that the more people study peace, the less conflict and war there will be. The prophet Isaiah's vision of the age of the Messiah points to the time when people will not learn about war: "He shall judge between the nations and shall decide disputes for many peoples, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore." (Isaiah 2.4). Instead of learning about war, people must know how to make peace to heal our world. We are so grateful you are part of the Bethlehem Institute of Peace and Justice family. We pray that the Lord will multiply grace and wisdom to you during these difficult days. Let's urgently pray together for the war to end soon. One of the Bethlehem Bible College students, Rose, offers this prayer: In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, JESUS, I want you to be the sunshine of our life. We ask you to be with our people in Gaza, to protect them under their broken homes. Please be with the mothers, fathers, and their children. Our hearts are broken because so many people have died. Amen. For Christ always –
