Dear People & Friends of St. Clements,

This coming Sunday is the fourth and last Sunday of the Epiphany season during which we have been reflecting on Jesus being ‘made manifest’ or ‘shown forth’. This Sunday, after two weeks of sojourning in the Gospel of John, we return to the Gospel of Mark with our Gospel Reading being Mark 1. 21-28. It describes the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry in the synagogue in Capernaum & the response of the people to his new & authoritative teaching.

Therefore, please do join us on Sunday 29th January at 11.00 for our Sung Eucharist. David & Alison Hellam will once more be leading parallel Children’s Ministry and the service will be followed by Coffee Hour in the hall on the third floor of Klimentská 18. My thanks to Daniel Bathula who has kindly agreed to be our Coffee Host on Sunday whilst the ever-faithful Caroline Studdert is away this weekend.

The Epiphany season ends with the Feast of Presentation of Christ in the Temple, (or Candlemas as it is commonly known), on Thursday 2nd February, forty days after Christmas Day. We are going to celebrate the Feast of Presentation two days early on Tuesday 31st January between 6.30-8.00pm at our regular weekly study and fellowship meeting in the small meeting room on the first floor of Klimentská 18. We will have an informal service gathered around the table in a similar manner to what we did on All Saints Day last year. As usual on a Tuesday evening after our meeting, several of us will go on to a nearby bar-restaurant for a meal together. Do try and join us for one or both of these activities this coming Tuesday.

In the Church liturgical year, the period between the Feast of Presentation & the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday is known as Ordinary Time, often colloquially known as the Green Season after the liturgical colour that we use. The length of this period of Ordinary Time depends on the date of Easter. This year it lasts for twenty days and includes three Sundays.

Therefore, before Lent begins, as well as our regular Sung Eucharist at 11.00 each Sunday, there will two meetings on Tuesday evenings. I’m still trying to sort out a topic & speaker for Tuesday 7th February but on Tuesday 14th February, our speaker will be Rev’d Pavel Černy who will talk about his own Church of the Brethren & also about the other smaller Protestant Churches in the ČR.

Lent then begins the following week on 22nd February – Ash Wednesday. That evening there will be a Sung Eucharist with (voluntary) imposition of ashes in St. Clement’s Church beginning at 7.00pm. I will be the celebrant and our preacher will be Rev’d Dr Karen Moritz.

Lent is a period during which many Christians make particular space for study and prayer. There will be a Lent Course running on the first five Tuesday evenings of Lent, 28th February, 6th, 13th, 20th & 27th March & David Hellam is provisionally planning to run something on five Thursday evenings, 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd & 30th March. More details of both in next week’s message but in the mean time, see if you can make space and time to take advantage of one of these courses & thus deepen & strengthen your own faith during this coming Lent.

One other advance date to tell you about. The Annual Church Meeting will take place immediately following worship on Sunday 18th March.

Finally for this week, A reminder about what we are collecting to give practical support to the work of the Armáda spásy / Salvation Army with the homeless in Prague

For the Clothing Bin we need hats, gloves, scarves, socks, shoes/boots and underwear for both men & women. On the outside of the bin there is, in both pictures and words, a clear indication of the items required & not required.

For the Food Bin we need tinned goods. Basically, any food item in a tin but NOT sauces, pasta, or other dried goods in packets or plastic bottles. Again, in pictures & words on the outside of the bin, there is a clear indication of what is & isn’t required.

The clothing bin is getting quite full. The food bin less so. Please bring your contributions with you to worship this coming Sunday if at all possible.

Best wishes

Ricky