Dear People of St. Clement’s,

My apologies that this is going out on Friday afternoon & is going to be very brief. However, since leaving St. Clement’s Church at about 10.10pm on Wednesday evening at the end of a mammoth recording session, this is the first real chance I’ve had to sit down at the computer & compile a coherent message.

There are just two things that I want to write about. Firstly…..

Recording a service for BBC Radio 4 celebrating Good King Wenceslas/Sv. Václav

I just wanted to write and say a very big ‘Thank you’ to everyone who turned out to help on Wednesday evening. I’m sorry that recording a service which will be just under 50 minutes long when it is broadcast, meant that the congregation were in Church for nearly two & a half hours by the time we’d practiced, recorded the service & then done several ‘re-takes’. Thank you for your patience.

Particular thanks to Jack Noonan for the intercessions & to Camilla Entwistle, Sean Miller & David Hellam for reading the scripture passages. Thank you also for a number of positive comments immediately following the service & for several appreciative emails I’ve received since. And a final ‘thank you’ to several people who took the trouble to send me messages of apology for not being able to be there either because of work or family commitments or through illness.

Several people have asked me about being able to listen to the broadcast or whether they will be able to obtain a copy of the recording. The service will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Sunday 26th December 2010 at 08.10 GMT which is 09.10 CET here in the Czech Republic. You can listen to it over the internet via the BBC website. Canon Stephen Shipley, the producer who many of you met on Wednesday evening, is going to be in touch with me over the next few days with details of other means of listening. He did also say that he would let me have a CD of the service once editing is complete. So please ‘watch this space’ as they say & I’ll hope to give more information in future Midweek Messages. 

This Sunday 28th November 2010 at 11am – Sung Eucharist for Advent Sunday

Our celebrant & preacher will be Bishop Dušan of the Old Catholic Church in the Czech Republic. There will be Sunday School and the service will be followed by Coffee Hour on the third floor of Klimentská 18. Please come and join us for worship on Sunday if you possibly can to mark the beginning of the Advent season & our preparations for the celebration of Christmas.

Next week, I hope to write a much longer message giving full details of all that is planned for Advent & the Christmas Season and also try & give an update on our financial situation.

Best wishes

Ricky