Dear All Saints and St Mary's

This Sunday’s New Testament reading, from Paul's letter to the Christians at Colossae (Colossians 1.15-end), opens with a poem that stands out from Paul's usual prose. It is thought by many scholars to be a hymn that was already in use in the church before Paul wrote the letter and might have been familiar to the its first readers. It places Christ above all of creation as the image and fullness of God, through whom all things were created and through whom God is reconciling all creation to himself.

This is the fundamental claim of the Christian faith. It is through Christ that we can truly know God. It is through Christ that we can be fully reconciled to God. It is only when we see creation in the light of Christ, that we can see it as the work of an almighty and loving creator. It is when we see acts of loving kindness in the light of Christ, that we see them as reflecting the love of God that Christ reveals.

In the remainder of the letter, Paul goes on to describe the practical implications of who Christ is. It makes all people equal, whatever their race, religious background, or social status, for all are loved by God (chapter 2). It encourages compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience (3:12). It puts the love of God, which we see in Christ, at the centre of all we do (3.14-17). While some of the detailed instructions Paul gives are specific to the culture of the time (3.18-4.6), his Christ centred approach is still a guide for living today.

This Sunday, we have Holy Communion at St Mary's at 10.00 am and at All Saint's at 10.30am.

This week the Holiday Bible Club will be taking place at All Saints, so there will be no Celtic Morning Prayer this Wednesday. There will, however, still be Holy Communion at St Mary's on Thursday at 10.00 am. Next Sunday, we have our normal fourth Sunday pattern, with Holy Communion at 8.00 am at All Saints and 10.00 at St Mary's. The 10.30 am service at All Saints will be Café Church, where we will be continuing our look at Paul's letter to the Christians in Rome.

This gives the following services for the coming week:

Sunday 20th July 

10.00 am St Mary's Holy Communion
10.30 am All Saints Holy Communion

Thursday 24th July 

10.00 am St Mary's Holy Communion

Sunday 27th July

8.00 am All Saints Holy Communion (said)
10.00 am St Mary's Holy Communion
10.30 am All Saints Café Church

Please note that, because of the Holiday Bible Club, there will be no access to All Saints grounds from 8.30 am to 1.00 pm on Wednesday 23rd, Thursday 24th and Friday 25th July.

As we look ahead to the coming week, and particularly thinking about the Holiday Bible Club, let us pray for the strength and guidance of the Holy Spirit in all we do.

Yours in Christ

Mark