As promised last week, this week it really is a Midweek Message going out hopefully sometime on Wednesday afternoon.
This Sunday 31st January at 11am – Sung Eucharist for the Feast of Presentation of Christ in the Temple
As I mentioned last week, strictly speaking, we should mark the Feast of Presentation or Candlemas, on 2nd February, forty days after Christmas Day. But I doubt if that many of you would choose to turn out on a cold dark Tuesday evening in February! Therefore, we are allowed to celebrate it two days early. The service will recall the events described by Luke in Luke 2 v22-40, when Jesus was presented back to God in the temple and his mother Mary received the rite of purification.
On Sunday 31st January, our preacher will be our Archdeacon Patrick Curran from Vienna. Patrick has the extremely difficult job of combining being Chaplain to the Vienna Anglican Chaplaincy with also being Archdeacon of the Eastern Archdeaconry of the Anglican Diocese in Europe. He tries to visit each of the Chaplaincies in the Archdeaconry, once every three years. He was last with us on Tuesday 28th October 2008 for my licensing, but this will be his first Sunday visit since the time of my predecessor, John Philpott. There will be Sunday School on Sunday, led by Veronika Newkirk.
Following the service, you are invited to a Shared Lunch at Klimentská 18, giving everyone the opportunity to meet Archdeacon Patrick. The lunch is kindly being organised by Sue Anderson and she has asked me to circulate the following message.
Shared Lunch
Thank you to all who signed up to contribute to the soup and sandwich lunch this coming Sunday. There are still some food items needed, so please contact Sue at psprincipal@riversideschool.cz or on 731 178 731 if you are able to bring something along!
Pan of soup 8-10 portions
Bread to accompany soup 8-10 portions
Plate of sandwiches 8-10 portions
Selection of crisps/savoury snacks
Dessert 8-10 portions
Soft drinks
Coffee
Teabags & milk
If you can help provide any of the above, please contact Sue by Friday afternoon so she knows what is still missing. Then Sue, Sybille & I can plug any remaining gaps.
Even if you cannot help provide food you are still very welcome to attend the lunch! There will be a basket for donations to cover any costs with the balance going to Chaplaincy funds.
Anyone interested in a house/flat/apartment swap holiday/vacation in the English Lake District?
I received an email some days ago, the text of which is below, from a husband & wife Anglican clergy couple in England. I have already written back to say it is if no interest to Sybille & I but that, as is suggested in the last paragraph, I would ask if anyone in the congregation would be interested.
I am contacting you about a possible house swap this summer. I live with my husband and two teenage sons in one of the most beautiful parts of England and friends have often enjoyed using our home for a holiday. We are hoping that we might be able to see something of Europe over the summer – and at present we are fairly open as to where we might go.
My husband (David) and I are both Church of England clergy, with PTO in Carlisle Diocese, but as neither of us are currently in stipendiary parish ministry we live not in a vicarage but in our own home, an attractive and roomy two bedroomed house 5 minutes walk from the centre of Keswick.
We have had positive experiences of house swaps as an enjoyable, interesting and economical way of arranging holidays and we are interested in exploring this possibility during the period Monday 16th August – Saturday 4th September. (These would be our preferred dates but we could possibly also look at the period Saturday July 17th – Saturday August 7th.)
If you are interested in exploring this possibility either for the whole period or a part of it, please do contact us and we can of course provide further details including photos of our house. If this is not something you are interested in for yourself but you can think of members of your community who may be interested, and whom you would be happy to commend, please feel free to pass on this information to them.
If anyone would be interested, please email me & I will put you directly in touch with the couple.
‘Our 100th Birthday Party’ on the evening of Friday 26th February. Thank you to everybody who has replied to say they will be attending. Thank you too, to the small number of people who have advised that they can’t attend because of previous commitments. It is still not too late to say that you would like to come. We both would certainly like you to! Just drop a quick reply to this email. Full details of venue etc will follow shortly. May we also say now – no presents please, just your presence!
Next Tuesday 2nd February
Just a note to say that I will NOT be at the Communio Centre, Karolíny Svĕtlé 21, (nearly opposite the Rotunda of the Holy Cross), Prague 1 between 4pm & 8pm next Tuesday as the Old Catholics are having a service to mark Candlemas, but instead of it being in the Rotunda of the Holy Cross, it will be in St. Lawrence Old Catholic Cathedral on Petrin Hill starting at 6pm. So Sybille & I will be there & you would be welcome to join us. But do wrap up warm!
Looking forward to seeing many of you in Church this Sunday at 11am!
Best wishes
Ricky
