Dear All Saints and St MarysThere have been two and a half momentous occasions in the life of the worldwide church in recent weeks:Pope Leo 14th and King Charles praying together in the Sistine Chapel, a holy place which lies at the heart of the Roman Catholic Church. The backdrop is the magnificent portrayal of the Last Judgement, painted by Michelangelo. The King was there not solely as monarch, but also as the supreme Governor of the Church of England. Both Pope and King guide, govern and encourage their branches of the worldwide church, not through dictat, but by drawing on the wisdom of the ages, and through their own personal examples of attempting to live a godly life. 500 years of discord - sad though much of that has been - is set against the background of God patiently drawing us closer by grace, towards our heavenly home. That is what it means to live “under the judgement of God”. Sarah Mullally, currently Bishop of London, has been appointed to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury. I did not think that I would live to see the day when a woman - a gracious, strong, godly woman - would sit on the Throne of Saint Augustine. She takes on the mantle of guiding the Church of England, formally begun in 597 AD - a church which has weathered storms and dangers, which has at times been a shining example of Christ-like living (and at times has cloaked the light for the Holy Spirit, through timidity, half-hardheartedness and resistance). The Church of England has never been perfect - but is at its best when humbly seeking to discern God’s will afresh in new circumstances, and sacrificial serving all people of this land.The “half” momentous occasion has been the decision from the House of Bishops to pause its efforts to make the Church of England a more inclusive, hospitable church (by recognizing the full contributions of LGBTI+ disciples). I am truly saddened by this. But I take heart from the other two examples - that the journey towards building God’s kingdom on earth is neither easy nor short; that God’s gracious providential care will not be thwarted.This Sunday marks the festival of All Saints, when we are called to remember the “saints” of past generations (some of whom, as they sought to be faithful to God, made decisions that we now question), the “saints” from different countries and cultures to our own, and the “saints” who do not look like us. I put the word in inverted commas, because saints are not only to be found in stained glass windows. Saints are all those who listen attentively for God’s word, who know they won’t get everything right, but who trust in the continuing inexhaustible kindness of God. Revd BobThis Sunday we have the following services10am - Creative Church - St Marys10.30am - All Saints Patronal Festival with Junior Church6.30pm - Choral Evensong - St MarysThe week aheadMon 3rd Nov 10:30am – Tiny Tots, All Saints Tue 4th Nov 10:30am – M4T, St. Marys Parish Rooms Weds 5th Nov 9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer, All Saints Thurs 6th Nov 10:00am – Holy Communion, St. Mary’s Fri 7th Nov 11:00am – Living After Loss, St. Mary’sSat 8th Nov 12:00pm - 1:30pm – Saturday Lunches, St. Mary’s Sunday 9th November8:00am – Holy Communion, All Saints 10:00am – Holy Communion, St. Mary’s 11.00am - Civic Remembrance in Fishponds Park – St Marys 10:45am – Remembrance Service – All Saints 7:15pm – Generations, All Saints
Dear Friends in Christ,One of the things I’ve noticed about being embedded in a community is the role of the unexpected leader. These are people who may be the most unlikely to lead in an ‘official’ way but who do so, often in dramatic and dynamic style, but also in quiet and unobtrusive ways. In reality many of us are people of influence and manifest ‘soft’ authority, perhaps within our families or our friendship groups. The unexpected leader is often someone who doesn’t follow conventional, ‘polite’ paths. They often are the ones who challenge authorities or systems. They may be those establish groups to come together to achieve a common goal or address an injustice. It’s easy to think that we as ordinary citizens have no power, no influence, but we do, and we can enable others to do so. It just needs the spark of one person to start a fire that changes everything. This Sunday is Bible Sunday, and Jesus is starting his own journey through leadership. As a male in Judaic society, he would already possess inherited and unearned power. Now he speaks at the synagogue, itself a conveyer of his position. His listeners are initially proud of what he’s doing-the local boy doing good-until he dumbfounds them by not playing the expected game, challenging them and breaking out a message that affronts them. Jesus begins his ministry with the Isaiah reading, proclaiming a message bigger than his hearers want. He’s not limited by his context. He’s now emerging into a new era, the ultimate in unexpected leaders. This Sunday 26 October the Last after Trinity 8:00am Holy Communion, All Saints10:00am Holy Communion, St. Mary’s10:30am Cafe Church, All Saints The Week Ahead Wednesday 29th Oct 9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer, All SaintsThursday 30th Oct 10:00am – Holy Communion, St. Mary’sFriday 31st Oct 11:00am – Living After Loss, St. Mary’sSaturday 1st Nov 10:00am – Coffee Morning, Book Sale & Bristol Repair Café, All SaintsSaturday 1st Nov 12:00pm - 1:30pm – Saturday Lunches, St. Mary’s Next Sunday 2nd November 10:00am –. Creative Church, St. Mary’s10:30am – Holy Communion, & Junior Church, All Saints6:30pm – Choral Evensong, St. Mary’s May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, evermore. Amen. Blessings, Fr Kester de Oliveira
Dear All Saints and St Mary’sThis year is the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea. At this council, The Emperor Constantine gathered all the wise and the great in the church to resolve some questions that had been dividing the church. Christianity is a religion centred on the story of God’s relationship with human beings. That story started in the Old Testament and continues to this day. At the heart of the story is the story of Jesus, his life, death, and resurrection. Living out this story, some questions arose. Is God the Father the same as the creator God of the Old Testament? Is Jesus a god, a human or somehow both? If Jesus is in some way a god, are there two gods or one? If there is one God, how is Jesus connected with God the Father? And what do we think about the Holy Spirit, the church, baptism, and resurrection? The answers to these questions have surprising consequences. They affect our attitudes to creation, to human suffering and to community, among other things. The answers to the questions of the day were summarised in a document that was agreed by representatives of all the churches. This was updated in fifty-six years later in the Council of Constantinople to produce what we know as the Nicene creed. This statement of the Christian faith is still accepted by almost all of those who call themselves Christian. In honour of this anniversary, we have decided to think about the creed in our Café Church services at All Saints. After a general introduction in October, we will work our way through the creed. We will reflect on what it says and how that makes a difference to our faith and in our lives. All are welcome to our first session on October 26th.Before then, this Sunday, we have our normal pattern of service for a third Sunday. In addition, there is a memorial service at St Mary’s in the afternoon, “A Time to Remember”.10.00 am St Mary’s Holy Communion10.30 am All Saints Holy Communion3.00 pm St Mary’s A Time to RememberThe services for the coming week are as follows:Wednesday 22nd 9.00 am All Saints Celtic morning prayerThursday 23rd 10.00 am St Mary’s Holy CommunionSunday 26th October8.00 am All Saints Holy Communion (said) 10.00 am St Mary’s Holy Communion 10.30 am All Saints Café ChurchYour brother in ChristMarkMark SimmsLicensed Lay MinisterBenefice of all Saints and St Mary Fishponds
Welcome, Bienvenue, Bienvenida,Witamy, Selamat datang....Wil CumaDear All Saints and St MarysI am very fond of the signs that have the world Welcome on their doors, especially the ones that have it in multiple languages. The world Welcome comes from two words - "Wil" which means "desired" and "Cuma" which means "Guest". Its a rather lovely way to think about the word - to desire a guest. To wish for company. At both All Saints and St Marys we welcome people in all sorts of different ways, and to many different things - worship, concerts, groups, cafes. To extend a welcome to a whole community is something that is core to the values of the Church of England, which has, a parish in every part of the country. Part of our DNA is that everyone in a parish immediately belongs and that we are all welcome, regardless of creed, colour, sex or sexuality. It also means that all are welcome regardless of ability, intellect, wealth or skill. We don't earn our parish - we simply are born, work, or live in it - we belong because we are here. As both churches, look at ways in which we can live out this welcome, whether that is through open churches, better access or more creative invitations, it is good to believe, trust in and know that Jesus is the person who teaches us and models for us a radical welcome. May we be parish churches who trust in that welcome that is extended to us all.All Saints welcomes our furry (and not so furry) friends to worship tomorrow for the Pet Service at 10.30 - do bring along your pet, or if not a cuddly toy as we look at place of animals in our lives. St Marys focus will be on raising awareness of disability and how we can make a difference here in this place with our welcome.Sunday 12th October8:00am Holy Communion, All Saints10:00am Sung Holy Communion, St. Mary’s10:30am Pet Service, All Saints 7:15pm Generations, The WoodThe week aheadMon 13thOct 10:30am -Tiny Tots, All SaintsTue 14th Oct 10:30am - Music 4 Tots, St. Mary’s Parish RoomsWeds 15th Oct 9:00am - Celtic Morning Prayer, All SaintsWeds 15th Oct 9:00am - 2:00pm - Bible Book Club, St. Mary’sThurs 16th Oct 10:00am - Holy Communion, St. Mary’sFri 17th Oct 11:00am - Living After Loss, St. Mary’sSat 18th Oct 12:00pm - 1:30pm - Saturday Lunches, St. Mary’sSunday 19th OctoberOct 10:00am - Sung Service of the Word, St. Mary’s 10:30am - Holy Communion, All Saints 3.00pm - A Time to remember - St MarysBlessingsRevd LizzieVicar of All Saints and St Marys Churches, Fishponds