The Diocese in Europe is holding a service of Evening Prayer for Pope Francis and all who mourn. Join us this Thursday April 24th at 18.00 CET/17.00 BST on Zoom. This will be a chance for us to come together to pray and reflect. Everyone is invited to join.The service will be led by Bishop Robert.Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81981390710?pwd=wCZSDux1jXCVxk2wxaGORsLCBaCZPQ.1If you have any questions, please send them to communications@europe.anglican.orgPlease also read the message that was published by Bishop Robert on the Diocese web site: Pope Francis, Rest in Peace.
Holy Week (the seven days from Palm Sunday to Holy Saturday) Good Friday - April 18th7.30pm - a special Praise and Prayer meeting to mark the Passion of Jesus, at the home of Christopher and Marie-Céline, 31 rue Madame Muller, 77210 AvonEaster Day - April 20th We will be having two special services to celebrate the most important day in the Christian calendar:Sunrise ServiceThis will be held at Mont Aigu in the Forest of Fontainebleau. We’ll meet in the nearest car park (please ask Ory for details) at 6.30am and walk together up to Mont Aigu. There we will have a very simple service to welcome Easter, and share refreshments. Friends from L'Église réformée will be with us.Easter CommunionAt 10.30am we’ll have our Easter Day communion service, which will include a baptism, a wonderful symbol and celebration of the new life we have in Christ. Individual prayer on Sundays I wonder if sometimes you arrive at St Luke’s, feeling heavy with a concern for someone you care about, and a desire to pray for them with the support of someone else? Or perhaps during the service you sense God speaking to you in a particular way which leaves you feeling that you’d really like to pray with others? We’d like to respond to such needs by offering the opportunity to pray with two members of the church who form a small prayer team. It will be offered immediately after the end of the service, at the back of the chancel behind the altar table, offering some privacy, and complete confidentiality. If you’d like to do this, please simply come up and explain what you’d like prayer for, and the two people will be delighted to pray with you. ‘Celebrating Nicaea’ - a Lent Course As I’m sure you’re aware by now, 2025 is the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, from which emerged the first version of the statement of belief which we call the Nicene Creed. To mark this special year the Diocese in Europe, of which we are a part, is using Lent to focus on the meaning and significance of the Creed. A five-session course will give us the opportunity to study it and so understand better the words which we say regularly and which are an enduring source of unity in the worldwide church. Before each session it would benefit you to do a small amount of preparation which you will find here: Celebrating Nicaea Lent Course | Diocese in EuropeScroll down to the bottom of the page, click on ‘Participants’ materials' and download the preparation for all 5 weeks. Donald, our Chaplain, will be running the course on five Tuesday evenings: March 11th, 18th, 25th, April 1st, 8th, starting at 8pm at Leigh Montillot’s house: 34 avenue Charles de Gaulle, Barbizon.It would be wonderful if as many of us as possible were able to do the course, and discover afresh the faith which holds us togetherPraying as St Luke’sOne of the most important initiatives to come out of our consultation, which Donald spoke about on Sunday 19th January, is an opportunity for us to gather to pray as a church. Christopher and Marie-Céline have kindly offered their home (31 rue Madame Muller, 77210 Avon) as a venue. Our first meeting will be on the evening of Friday 28th February at 7.30pm. Everyone is very welcome. Lent lunches Lent Lunches are a time for fellowship during the Lenten Season, centred around a simple meal of soup, cheese, and bread. Thanks to all our volunteers who have signed up to host a Lent Lunch this year. Lent Lunch dates, starting at 12noon: March 13 (chez Barbara & Deigan Morris) March 20 (chez Jackie Shellard with co-host Judy King-Gilles) March 27 (chez Annabel & Daniel Pouget) April 3 (chez Avril & François Bateman) April 10 (chez Bente & Paul Evans) Kindly let your hosts know at least 48 hrs before the date if you will be attending so they can have the time to prepare the necessary quantities of food. ConfirmationDonald is planning on running a group for those who would like to be confirmed, or who would like to find out more about confirmation, starting after Easter. If you’d be interested in joining, please talk to Donald or email him: chaplain.stlukesfontainebleau@gmail.comLeading intercessionsOne of the important parts of our Sunday services are the prayers of intercession, led by a member of the congregation. We are so grateful that we have people in our church who do this so well. Perhaps you feel you would like to lead intercessions, but would like some guidance? Whether you’re an ‘old hand’ or would like to be involved please come to an informal evening session which Donald will be hosting on Wednesday 19th March at 7.30pm, rue Aristide Briand.
Excerpt from the Diocese web site : Celebrating Nicaea Lent CourseOne of the key part of our celebrations, which will take place throughout the year, is a specially commissioned Lent Course, written by another of our chaplains, Dr Donald McFadyen (Chaplain at Fontainebleau). You can find out more about the course here.This is what Donald had to say about his experience of writing the course:'When I began serving as Chaplain of St Luke’s, Fontainebleau Iast Easter, I hadn’t given a thought to 2025 being the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, still less that Nicaea, now called Iznik in Turkey, was in our Diocese. For me, that link changed the Council from feeling distant in time and space, to being something to which I was connected like never before. I was therefore delighted to be asked to put together a special Lent course for the Diocese to celebrate this special anniversary. It’s been exciting to work with a small team, sharing ideas of how the Nicene Creed inspires us. I hope the energy of our discussions has been transferred into the course materials, and that if you choose to do the course, as leader or participant, you will gain a fresh understanding of the Creed's power to kindle faith, bring unity and inspire our mission in God’s world. Studying the Creed demands much from us, but gives back far more. Please join in, as together we see afresh the faith which holds us together.'Bishop Robert writes of the course;“I warmly commend the Lent Course Celebrating Nicaea which has been specially commissioned and written for chaplaincies in our diocese to use in 2025. Please do consider engaging with the course in your Chaplaincy this Lent. As we are all conscious of the pressures of secularism, 2025 is a unique opportunity to join in celebrating with the global church the marvellous and mysterious faith we share in the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit."
Psalm 74 rightly says, ‘the earth is full of darkness, full of the haunts of violence’, as is shown by a world map shaded to indicate the presence of violent conflict, ranging from ‘skirmishes and clashes’ to ‘major war’ (as measured by death tolls). Within our diocese we marked the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine this month, a significant escalation of a war that has rumbled since 2014. The number of casualties, internally displaced people and refugees is high, with over 6 million in Europe.In 2022, USPG and the Diocese in Europe partnered in an appeal for funds to respond to urgent humanitarian needs in Ukraine and refugee needs in neighbouring countries. We have trusted church-related partner organisations on the ground who are delivering vital support to the survivors of the hostilities. This Lent, we want to build on the transforming work of that earlier Appeal which supported refugees from Ukraine and broaden it to include projects which also support refugees from elsewhere, and in other parts of Europe.More details in the attached document.
