Dear People of St. Clement’s,
As explained in last week’s Midweek Message, I am on holiday for two weeks from tomorrow. Thus this week’s message is going out far earlier than usual and will also be relatively brief!
New Churchwardens
At an Extraordinary Church Meeting held last Sunday, Carol Sanford & Steve Entwistle were duly elected as Churchwardens to serve until the next Annual Church Meeting which will take place in March 2011. Carol is already a member of the Church Council & moves from being an elected member to an ex-officio one whilst Steve joins the Church Council for the first time. I am grateful to both of them for being willing to take on this role.
Your Locum Chaplain
I’m writing this just before setting out to drive to the airport to pick up Rev’d Kathy Ferguson who will be your Locum Chaplain for the next two weeks. Kathy will be standing in for me at all my normal Midweek & Sunday activities. Therefore tomorrow,
Wednesday 29th September as well as on Wednesday 6th October
– Meet the Locum Chaplain in Prague City Centre
Kathy will be available for a chat + coffee or tea & biscuits, between 4pm and 6pm at Communio Centre Karolíny Svĕtlé 21 (nearly opposite the Rotunda of the Holy Cross) Prague 1 Karolíny Svĕtlé itself lies between Charles Bridge and Národní třída. A reminder that this regular weekly event has now moved from Tuesday to Wednesday each week.
At 6pm, she will lead a simple said service of Evening Prayer at the same venue. There will be an easy booklet to follow, just as we have on Sunday, and within the service there will be the opportunity for extemporary or silent prayer. The service itself will last no more than thirty minutes.
Then from 6.30pm until 7.30pm, there will be an Informal Bible Study, again at the same venue. Kathy will be continuing our series of studies based on the Letter of James, one of the most practical books in the whole of the New Testament. It will be chapter 4 on Wednesday 29th and chapter 5 on Wednesday 6th. If you can bring your own Bible – great! But Kathy will also have the Biblical text printed out for those who come without a Bible. You do not have to have a fount of Biblical knowledge to attend – in fact it is probably preferable if you don’t!!!!! No one will be put on the spot or embarrassed. That I promise.
At 7.30pm, everyone can either go home OR those who would like to, could invite Kathy to join them in a nearby restaurant for fellowship over an evening meal.
A reminder that whilst Kathy is here, you can contact her by:
- the normal Chaplaincy landline 233 310 266 or
- the Chaplaincy mobile 737 039 082 which I shall be leaving with her.
- To contact her by email, please write to kathy [at] oerle dot co dot uk
Please don’t write to the usual chaplain email address as you won’t get an answer for over two weeks!
Sunday 3rd October at 11am Sung Eucharist for Trinity 18
Kathy will be your celebrant and preacher – the first time a ordained woman will have celebrated the Eucharist at St. Clements. Please support Kathy on this special occasion. Following the service, there will be Shared Lunch in the hall on the third floor of Klimentská 18, an opportunity to meet and welcome Kathy as well as to share fellowship with one another. The suggested theme is Grill Party e,g any grilled meat, fish or veg with salad & chocolate dessert. I am most grateful to Caroline Studdert who promptly responded to my plea in last week’s Midweek Message for an organiser for this event. Caroline tells me that her own grill isn’t working & therefore if anyone else has the same problem, food cooked in other ways is also perfectly acceptable!!! Please can you let Caroline know either by email crstuddert [at] gmail dot com or phone 736 415 935 that you are planning to be there & indicate what food you will be bringing.
A warning – If you normally come by car the Church, be aware that on Sunday 3rd October, street cleaning is taking place and parking will be prohibited in the streets around St. Clements including on Lannova where you can normally park legally & for free on a Sunday. Either use public transport or plan to arrive a little earlier so you can park somewhere slightly further away & then walk to Church.
Two other brief announcements
Copies of the new October – December edition of the ICS News & Prayer Diary arrived at the Chaplaincy Flat on Monday. They will be available at the back of Church for people collect this coming Sunday.
Confirmation – I have a couple of people interested in being prepared for Confirmation. I shall be arranging to meet with them to plan Confirmation Classes once I’m back from holiday on Tuesday 12th October. If there are others who are interested or at least would like to discuss the idea with me, please get in touch. Best wishes Ricky.
