Dear People & Friends of St. Clements,
There are quite a number of things that I need to inform or update you about through this week’s message, so please do scroll down & read it all! But first a reminder about this coming Sunday
Sunday 27th February at 11am – Sung Eucharist for the Second Sunday before Lent
The theme of this Sunday’s readings is God in creation & his care for us, together with our responsibility to care for his creation. The Old Testament reading in the whole of the creation narrative from Genesis chapter one. It’s a rather long reading which has already created practical problems for me as I’ve started to draft the Weekly Bulletin for Sunday morning! The Gospel reading continues our journey through the Sermon on the Mount and is Matthew 6. v25-34.
We will be joined on Sunday morning by 35 Norwegian young people, about five of whom are deaf, & a couple of group leaders will therefore sign the service for them. Just be aware that to enable this happen, for once you might not be able to sit in your favourite pew!
There will be Children’s Ministry this week led by Sean Miller who will no doubt be ably supported by Sabinka! Coffee Hour follows in the hall on the third floor of Klimentská 18.
Wednesday 2nd March at the Communio Centre, Karolíny Svĕtlé 21 (diagonally across from the Rotunda of the Holy Cross), Prague 1
5pm – 7pm – I will be available for Coffee & Chat for anyone who wants to drop by & talk.
7pm – Evening Prayer followed by Bible Study & discussion aiming to finish no later than about 8.15pm.
And a reminder once more about the following weekend…….
Visit by Archdeacon Patrick Curran & David Healey, Head of the Intercontinental Church Society (ICS)
Patrick & David will be visiting us on the weekend of Saturday 5th & Sunday 6th March. As well as having meetings with me, your Churchwardens & Church Council, they will also both speak during our 11am Sung Eucharist on Sunday 6th March. The service will be followed by our next Shared Lunch giving the wider congregation a chance to meet with them both. Do try if at all possible to be at both worship & lunch that day. Once more, I would like a volunteer(s) to set up for the lunch and provide the hot drinks. If you would be willing to do this, please get in touch with me.
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday 9th March
At 7pm on Ash Wednesday Evening, there will be a Sung Eucharist with the (voluntary) imposition of ashes. We shall have the privilege of welcoming an Episcopal High School Choir from Baton Rouge, La, USA that evening which will no doubt enhance our worship.
As I wrote last week, I am still in the final stages of planning a Lent Course for the following five weeks of Lent which will hopefully feature some visiting speakers. It is provisionally scheduled for 7pm – 8.30pm on Wednesday evenings. However, having written that last week, the inevitable question has been raised by a couple of people since as to whether it could be on another evening rather than Wednesday. Therefore, if you have a problem with Wednesday evening but would come on a Tuesday or Thursday, please send me an email ASAP and say whether one or both would allow you to attend. And if you were planning to come but moving it from Wednesday would prevent you from doing so, please send me also an email ASAP & tell me!
Ethics at Lunchtime – Please note the change of date
Jointly organised by St. Clement’s and the British Chamber of Commerce in the ČR, our next Ethics at Lunchtime event will now take place on Thursday 24th March starting at 12.30pm and the subject for discussion will be “Is religious faith necessary in order to have ethical values in business?” Everyone is welcome but each person will be responsible for paying the Zinc Restaurant for their own lunch (390 CZK per person for a two course set menu including tea/coffee and petit fours). If you plan to attend, please register at the website of the British Chamber of Commerce. Particularly if you work in central Prague, try and invite colleagues for what is always an excellent lunch and what promises to be a lively discussion.
Christmas Cards
A reminder about the email that I sent out earlier this week regarding Christmas cards. This is an idea formulated by Steve & Camilla Entwistle to both raise funds for St. Clements, but also provide something that is often not easily available in Prague – decent Christmas cards with text in English for a reasonable price. If you haven’t yet filled in the short survey to help us assess demand, please click on this link.
Writing this has reminded me that I haven’t filled one out yet! I shall do so as soon as I’ve finished compiling this message.
A Thank you card from Sue Anderson
Many of you will know that Sue Anderson, who has worshipped with us at St. Clements since 2002, has now returned to the UK whilst she seeks to know what God has planned for her future. Before leaving, Churchwarden Carol Sanford, together with Alan Schmidt, presented Sue with a set of hand crafted glasses to thank her for all she has contributed to the life of St. Clement’s over these past nine years. Today, I received a lovely ‘Thank you card’ from Sue containing a handwritten message to the congregation. I shall pin this to the noticeboard at the back of Church so everyone can read it.
A reminder of everything I wrote last week about our forthcoming Annual Church Meeting
Annual Church Meeting – Sunday 27th March 2011
I have explained in previous messages about being on the Church Electoral Roll in order to be able to vote or stand for election at the Annual Church Meeting. Forms to apply to join the Electoral Roll & a copy of the Electoral Roll as it currently stands, are both on the noticeboard at the back of Church.
At the Annual Church Meeting, the following need to be elected.
Two Churchwardens
Two lay representatives to the Archdeaconry Synod
The duly elected Churchwardens & Archdeaconry Synod Reps are ex-officio members of the Church Council. Churchwardens hold office for one year but the Synod Reps hold office for the next three years unless they resign in the interim. It is perfectly possible for a Churchwarden to also be a Synod Rep.
Then there are up to nine additional places on the Church Council, each to hold office for one year.
At the first meeting of the newly elected Church Council, it appoints various officers for the year, most notably a Secretary & a Treasurer. Our current Treasurer H.K., has indicated that she will be standing down at the Annual Church Meeting. Therefore, we need to find a candidate willing to stand for election to the Church Council with a view to taking on that role. H.K., your Churchwardens & I have discussed ideas as to how certain parts of the role might be shared & the task has been made easier by H.K. setting up internet banking by which to manage our account. As a volunteer is always preferable to a pressed man or woman, I would love to hear from anyone who might be willing to consider taking on the role of Treasurer for the forthcoming year. Ideally, your Churchwardens & I would like to find a possible candidate in advance of the visit of Archdeacon Patrick & David Healey so they can talk future financing with David.
Best wishes, Ricky
And finally for this week, looking further ahead……
Richard Robinson, husband of the British Ambassador H. E. Sian MacLeod, has asked me to circulate the following message;
Dear All ,
You may like advance notice that the Choir of Winchester Cathedral will be visiting the Czech Republic in early April. They will give two evening concerts, as follows:
Saturday 2 April Old Monastery, Brno: Music for Lent.
Monday 4 April, St Vitus Cathedral, Prague Castle, Prague Castle: Music for Royal Occasions.
This will be a rare opportunity to hear one of the UK’s great Cathedral choirs performing in Central Europe. Please do encourage your friends and relations to come along. The following video is of a recent BBC broadcast.
Tickets for both events should go on sale from 3 March at Prague Castle, Ticket Pro, Bohemia Ticket and Ticket Dream priced at Kc 390 with student and senior discounts available.
Please note that I am organising this tour in a private capacity. The concerts will be ‘under the auspices’ of the Ambassador.
Richard Robinson
