Dear People & Friends of St. Clements,
Yesterday, Sybille & I changed our address. No – we haven’t moved out of the Chaplaincy flat. Instead, for reasons associated with the intricacies of Czech bureaucracy, the building in which the Chaplaincy Flat is located, has been re-numbered.
As most of you will know, all buildings in Prague have two numbers. One number, on a red plate with white lettering, is the registration of that building with the local authority – in our case, with Praha 6. That number – 2614, is unchanged. The other number, on a dark blue plate with white lettering, is the number of the building in that particular street. Our building was and still is, Pat’anka 11. But because there are two separate doors & staircases to the two halves of the building, one was labelled 11A and the other, (our entrance door & staircase) was labelled 11B.
However, for reasons that are explained in Czech here in this document, yesterday, what was previously Pat’anka 2614/11A is now just Pat’anka 2614/11 and what was previously Pat’anka 2614/11B is now Pat’anka 2614/11A. Rozumíte????? We have two new shiny signs alongside our entrance door as can be seen in this photo. And the correct amended full form of our address is on the home page of our website.
Sunday Worship
We were privileged to have the American soprano Catherine Short de Arce singing as part of our worship last Sunday. Many of you commented to me how much you had enjoyed her contribution to our worship. Earlier this week, I had an email from Catherine saying
“Thank you so very much for having me in your congregation on Sunday. It was lovely and your congregation was so welcoming. I really appreciate you having me sing also. It was a pleasure”.
This coming Sunday 29th May at 11am, we shall be joined for our Sung Eucharist by the Callington Singers, a choir from Cornwall in the UK. Their Musical Director Graham Williams, who I met earlier this year, tells me that
“We have performed in many prestigious venues including: Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, St Georges’s Chapel Windsor, Worcester, Gloucester and Salisbury Cathedrals. We have also performed on British television and radio. Each year we tour a European country and perform in their cathedrals. Previous trips have included St Peter’s Cathedral Rome, Eglise La Madeleine and Cathedrale de Notre Dame de Paris, Firenze Cathedral, Thomaskirke Leipzig, Vienna and Salzburg cathedrals, Barcelona and Toledo cathedrals”.
So I think we are in for another musical treat this Sunday too. There will be Children’s Ministry, led this week by TerriAnne Novak and the service will be followed by Coffee Hour in the hall on the third floor of Klimentská 18.
Activities next week
There will not be meeting on Tuesday evening next week. Instead, the will be a Sung Eucharist on the evening of Thursday 2nd June at 7pm for Ascension Day. Because Ascension Day always falls on a Thursday (40 days after Easter Day), and because it isn’t a public holiday in the Czech Republic, unlike every other neighbouring country, it very easily gets neglected. Yet it is an important date in the Christian Year, marking the end of Jesus’ resurrection appearances and celebrating his return to his Father’s throne in heaven. Please try to join us for worship next Thursday evening if you possibly can.
Looking ahead to June……
On the first three Tuesday evenings in June, I have invited speakers from three different Churches here in the Czech Republic to come explain more about their respective Churches. Each meeting will take place between 6.30-8.00pm in the small meeting room on the first floor of Klimentská 18. As well as listening to a presentation, there will be the opportunity to ask questions The details are as follows;
Tuesday 7th June – The Old Catholic Church in the Czech Republic
Our speaker will be Květoslav Tomáš Krejčí, who is an elected lay member of the Synodal Council of the Old Catholic Church. Květoslav is a fluent English-speaking lawyer who has worshipped at St. Clement’s on a number of occasions including interpreting for Bishop Dušan when he made his last Episcopal visit on Advent Sunday 2010. As you may know, our legal status is as ‘The English-speaking parish in Prague of the Old Catholic Church’. Yet I am very aware that many of you understand very little about the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht who have been in full communion with the Anglican Church since the Bonn agreement of 1931. Please come, willing to learn more, as well as being armed with any questions you might have.
Tuesday 14th June – The Salvation Army
Our speaker will be Major Ruth Stannett who, with her husband Major Mike Stannett, lead the work of the Salvation Army in the Czech Republic. A chance to learn more about their work, both social and evangelistic.
Tuesday 21st June – The Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren (ECCB)
Our speaker will be Rev’d Gerhard Frey-Reininghaus, who is the head of the Ecumenical Department of the ECCB who, for the past 21 years, have kindly hosted the Prague Anglican congregation in Kostel Sv. Klimenta. An opportunity to learn more about our host denomination who are by far the largest Protestant grouping in the Czech Republic.
One more important date for your diary…
As Churchwarden Steve Entwistle mentioned when making announcements last Sunday, on Sunday 26th June, following a slightly shorter 11am Family Eucharist, there will be a Church Picnic in the public park on Lannova, between the Church & the Vltava River. The park has excellent play facilities for children and we also hope to organise some entertainment. More details to follow but please plan to be there before many of you head away from Prague for your summer holidays. It also would be an excellent occasion to invite friends who don’t normally come to Church. Start thinking now about who you could invite…….
Hoping I haven’t forgotten to mention anything important.
Best wishes
Ricky
