This Sunday at 6pm, we will include prayers for healing as part of our service of Holy Communion.The passage that we have reached as we work our way through Luke's gospel is Luke 18, where Jesus stops to talk to the blind beggar who has been crying out to him and asks 'What do you want me to do for you?'It's a passage that reveals Jesus' identity as the Messiah/Saviour promised by the prophets, now sent by God. It shows how Jesus is willing and able to meet the deepest spiritual needs of those who cry out to him in faith. He is able to restore sight to the blind - to those inwardly and outwardly blind.This Sunday, after coming up to take the bread and the wine, there will be the opportunity to be anointed with oil for healing. You won't need to explain why you would like prayer, simply allow a member of the team to anoint you with the sign of the cross and have them say a short prayer over you. It's an opportunity to bring our whole self before God - body, mind and spirit - in the context of worship and to ask that he would meet us at our deepest point of need.In James 5 we read these words: Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you ill? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up.'Come along on Sunday evening - whether troubled, joyful or ill - as we sing, pray and ask for God's healing and help. If you're not able to come, then please join me in praying that all who come for prayer will leave with a sense of having met with Jesus and been deepened in faith by that experience.Your friend and Vicar,Mick
At our 10am service on Sunday 28th June we welcome Janneke Klos from Count Everyone In, a Christian organisation that helps to make worship welcoming and accessible to those with additional needs. We will meet in the church building on that Sunday morning rather than in the St Bede’s canteen to improve accessibility, enable us to have words and graphics on the screens, and to use the chancel for visible leading of the service. It might be tight for space, but we will maximise the seating and look forward to joining with those from Holy Trinity and wider, including members of Friends of Jesus (our monthly group for adults with physical or learning disabilities), for accessible Bible teaching and joyful sung worship!
Work has begun on site with the demolition of our old church centre buildings. Fittingly, the oldest part - the old Victory Hall built in 1920 - was the last section to go. Both the cross from the top of the most recent section, and a stone arch and plaque from the oldest section have all been recovered and will be used in our new building. We hope to be able to share timelapse footage from the site on our YouTube channel so please keep an eye out for that.To find out more about either the aims of the project, or to support it financially, go to www.htredhill.com/connected
